Symphony
by MadFox32
Summary: What happens when you try and co-write a fanfiction novel? This letter fic (essentially an acrostic poem with a chapter for each letter) begins at the end of DD and switches perspectives between Phoenix, Apollo, Athena, and Trucy. Full of humor, feels, and co-writing shenanigans: Dances-like-flames, LilacWinters, Lumos314, misa96 and I present to you: Symphony!
1. Treat

Remember that Justicykes fic MadFox mentioned in You're Fine? Yeaaaah… It kinda got a _biiit_ out of hand. This is what it ended up becoming - sorry to all you Justicykes fans out there.

We eventually decided on a letter fic, like MadFox explained in the fic summary that nobody reads other than checking for fluff and ships… What? You know it's true!

Each chapter will focus on one of the characters of the Wright Anything Agency: Phoenix, Apollo, Athena and Trucy, in that order. The first letters of the chapters will eventually spell a word, but _what_it is, I can't tell you! (MadFox: Wow Can. So sneaky XD)

Well, that's enough rambling, it's about time we get into the story itself, ahaha. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! It's the culmination of all of our efforts - it couldn't have turned out half as well without all the rest of our co-writers.

\- CanHalfEmpty

* * *

**T~**Treat

POV: Phoenix Wright

A whole new story was starting where the last one had left off. It was refreshing, knowing the old one was coming to an end. It had been one of the more stressful ones. Everyone was smiling for the first time in a while- Athena was aquitted both in the eyes of the law and the perception of Justice, Trucy was safely in my arms, and we'd avenged Clay's death. Just sitting behind the defense bench with nothing left to object to was refreshing- but the question of "Now what?" rang in my ears.

Well, I had to leave the courtroom, for one.

Once we made it into the defense lobby, a familiar face made his way to us in midst of all the ruckus.

"There's quite a bit of a commotion out here, ja?" Apollo raised his eyebrows, evidently not expecting to see his own courtroom rival there.

"Prosecutor Gavin? Um... how long have you been here?" He asked, his voice cracking. I tried not to chuckle.

"Not even a minute. One of my trials just ended."

"Oooh, did you win?" Trucy asked, a grin on her face. I could hear my protégé mumble, and the prosecutor continued.

"Ja. That man was a killer, no doubt about it. It feels good to prosecute a guilty person once in a while, ja?" he replied. Upon hearing that, I managed to catch a faint smirk on Apollo's typically stoic face. "I would assume that you won your trial as well?"

"Ja!" Athena replied enthusiastically. "I was the defendant, actually..." she added sheepishly.

Gavin frowned. "I heard. Just another reason to question Herr Fulbright's sanity, I suppose." I couldn't help but smile at the prosecutor's apparent faith in Athena.

"You know, that's really funny," Apollo commented, "Given the fact that he's behind bars now."

The comment led the prosecutor to raise his eyebrows. "Herr Fulbright?"

"Ja." She repeated cheerfully.

"I suppose his song always seemed a bit too sweet to me." he mused. I understood what he meant, and Apollo nodded his head in recognition. Athena, however, seemed a bit lost. _I suppose she has a bit more to learn._ I watched as she shrugged it off, Widget flashing a bright green around her neck, despite all that had happened. _Or maybe we should be learning from her. We've all been through dark times, but she's the only one I've ever seen shining brighter than she was before she went in._

"So, Daddy, you're taking us out to noodles, right?" Trucy asked with a grin, interrupting my train of thought.

"Yep. It's tradition," Apollo jumped in, smirking. _I know you've had a rough day too, but you don't have to encourage her._

"I'm a bit hungry, ja? Perhaps I could join you," Klavier said. _Woah! Objection!_ _I can barely afford to feed four people!_

"I don't know if you could handle it, Prosecutor Gavin. They're some pretty insane noodles." _Athena. Stop. You're only making him more determined._ Her grin told me that was the point.

"Yeah, don't famous rock stars go out for dinner every night?" Apollo teased. "You probably couldn't handle normal people food."

"As if I could simply walk into a restaurant to eat. I eat as many microwave dinners as I know you do."

"They must be pretty luxurious microwaveable dinners." Apollo laughed. Klavier shook his head with a smirk.

"Sorry, Prosecutor Gavin, but we all know you're far from normal," Athena added. Apollo rolled his eyes.

"Really, though, you should totally come with us!" Trucy said with a grin, and the musician nodded casually. Everyone looked at me, and for a moment, everyone was quiet as I contemplated how strong of an objection was appropriate. Finally, an awkward cough caused everyone to turn and look at the two prosecutors standing at the edge of the group, unsure of whether to stay or leave.

Edgeworth adjusted his glasses. "... Wright, I suppose you want me to come with you as well, if I'm not mistaken." _That depends. Are you paying?_

"Of course!" Trucy confirmed. "And you too, Mr. Blackquill!" _Trucy, you do realize that the more money I spend on other people, the less I can spend on you?_

"Hmph. Very well, I will join you. I haven't eaten noodles for a long time, and I'm sure Taka would enjoy some as well." Simon said, stroking his precious bird.

"Then we should hurry up! Eldoon's closes at ten!" Athena called.

"No, let's take our time! There's no hurry," I tried to reassure them, only to be turned around and shoved out the door by Trucy.

~O~

"Wright," Edgeworth blurted out as we approached the familiar cart. It was stopped, indicating that Eldoon already had a customer. "Duck."

"Huh?" was all that I could let out before an all-too-familiar face tackled me in a painfully tight hug.

"Niiick! Edgeeeeey!" the man wailed as Edgeworth and I both groaned in unison.

"When something smells…" I muttered under my breath. Out of all the people I could have met at the noodle stand, it just _had_ to be Larry.

"Boss? Who's this?" Athena asked.

"... He's an ... _acquaintance_ of mine." I eventually replied, unable to summarize Larry in a few words. "Ignore him, Athena. It'll be for the best," I added, cringing as he released the hug and inspected my female companions.

"Oooh, Nick, still managing to keep so many chicks around you all the time?" _I rest my case._

"Larry, cut it out," I hissed. _You haven't changed one bit…_ With complete disregard for my warning, he approached Athena with his usual cocky smirk.

"Hey, cutie! So what's the deal between you and-" He was quickly cut off by a faceful of hawk. Although I tried to mask my relief, I was more than happy that we didn't have to hear the end of that.

"Prosecutor Blackquill, I was under the impression we had agreed that your hawk would refrain from assaulting people." Edgeworth muttered dryly, although I could sense the same relief in his voice. Prosecutor Blackquill crossed his arms and leaned up against a tree, his eyes glinting as Taka landed back on his shoulder. Edgeworth's annoyed gaze turned to Larry.

"E-Edgey! Quit staring at me like that!" The prosecutor's eyebrows had furrowed even more than usual in sheer disgust - it almost looked as if he was glaring holes straight through Larry's head.

"Boss, just who _is_ he?" Athena repeated her question, half amused and half confused.

"... It's kind of a long story… He's an _acquaintance_-"

"C'mon, Nick!" He interrupted. "After all I've done for you!? Me and Edgey _did_ stand up and prosecute you back when you got accused of robbing people and everyone was being mean to you, don't you remember?!"

Edgeworth twitched. _You could've at least gotten the details right… _I thought in exasperation. A quick look towards the prosecutor told me that we were thinking along the same lines.

"Larry, your complete disregard for logic is giving me a migraine," Edgeworth eventually said with an audible groan.

"Edgey…" Larry was unshockingly in tears. "**How can you be so mean to me?!** We've been friends for so long, and _this_ is how you treat me? No wonder you two don't have girlfriends yet!"

I sighed. _Larry… It's no wonder that girls run away at the sight of you. _

"I'll take care of him," Edgeworth mouthed. I nodded, silently mourning for him, and turned back to my assistants.

"I think his mood swings gave Widget a heart attack," Athena commented, observing the wildly strobing screen of Widget.

"I think he's going to give me a heart attack, too…" Apollo mumbled. _Some might say that meeting new people can change you for the better, _I thought. _Meeting Larry simply makes you lose your faith in humanity._

I looked over to see Edgeworth criticizing a sobbing Larry and thanked my lucky stars that Trucy had dragged him along, even if it meant less money for me. A thought occurred to me, and I frowned. _Larry had better be paying for his own noodles._

~O~

The only one who seemed unfazed by the recent turn of events was Trucy- although that didn't surprise me one bit. Trucy had brushed past Larry and gone straight to Mr. Eldoon and his noodle cart.

"Hi, Guy!" she said with a grin.

"You brought a whole crowd with you this time, didn't you?" He examined the group with satisfaction. "You all want noodles, huh?"

"Yep! And make sure Polly's is extra salty, becau-"

"**Objection!** Don't… Err… Don't question Eldoon's sense of taste. I'm sure he puts in the perfect amount of salt already," Apollo interrupted sheepishly.

"Don't be silly, boy! The salt's what makes these here noodles what they are! I'll add some extra salt for a dollar."_ Woah, a normal amount of salt is just fine!_

"That's not necessary, Mr. Eldoon. I'm fine with the normal amount of salt," Apollo replied, trying to weasel himself out of a certain two-bowl death.

"Aww, Apollo, don't be a wimp!" Athena called, no doubt having caught onto his intentions.

"I'm not being a wimp, it's just that today's trial already raised my blood pressure enough for one lifetime!" he complained.

"You know, Pollo's Spanish for chicken…" Athena replied with a smirk.

"I'd like to see you have extra salt in _your_ bowl, then!" Apollo retorted.

"All right! Make my noodles extra salty, too!" Athena told Eldoon. _There's 2 dollars down the drain..._

"Hey! I really can eat it, I just thought it was a bad idea."

"Prove it, _Pollo_," she mocked.

"...I want extra extra salt, Mr. Eldoon." Apollo ordered, a dangerous glint in his eye. _Looks like my wallet isn't the only thing dying today._

"That'll be an extra dollar," Eldoon replied nonchalantly.

"I want extra extra _extra_ salt!" Athena called. _If two bowls could kill a man before, I don't want to see how this plays out._

"Athena! We got you off the hook so that you wouldn't have to die!" I reminded her, admittedly in no small part to conserve what little was left of my wallet.

"A little salt has nothing on me! I'll be fine!" she replied. I only raised my eyebrows, knowing it was a lost cause.

"All right, Mr. Eldoon. I'll match her in terms of salt. We'll see who can have more," Apollo confirmed. His hasty tone told me that he didn't want to raise the salt content any more, however.

"All right, there you are!" He placed two bowls on the counter. They looked as if they were filled with ice, but closer inspection revealed that the ice cubes were, in fact, pure salt that hadn't been able to dissolve in the already saturated broth. Apollo's eyes widened, but he didn't say anything.

"Ten times the original salt content. You're either brave or dumb. We'll see in a few minutes," Eldoon said seriously.

Thankfully, everyone else got their bowls without further emptying my wallet - other than Trucy. "Uh, I think I'll have extra salty, too. Not extra extra extra, but just extra. You know, just to be sure it's salty!" Eldoon was happy to oblige, telling her a little extra salt could do no harm, and I groaned. _The whole Agency is out to get me, isn't it?_

I picked up the bill, and I had to restrain myself from fainting._ 71 dollars in noodles?! This is almost as bad as when I paid for that feast at Gatewater Hotel!_

Once again, Trucy didn't seem to care. "There's nothing better than a good bowl of salty noodles!" she exclaimed in delight. _At least she's enjoying herself. _She shoveled a fork in her mouth, and winced. "That's pretty salty."

"Why did you order extra salty, then?!" Apollo exclaimed.

"I wanted to make sure it would be salty!" She protested.

"It's Eldoon's! Of course it's going to be salty!"

"You can never be too sure," she replied with a wink. Apollo let out an exasperated sigh.

Everyone else was savouring the salty noodles peacefully… well, maybe not _everyone_. Neither Apollo or Athena had bothered to touch their noodles yet. Edgeworth glared at Larry as he slurped up his noodles noisily, his own bowl untouched. _Edgeworth, if you aren't going to pay for your own noodles, you might as well eat them._

"So, are you guys ready?" Trucy asked.

"Ready for what?" Apollo retorted.

"You haven't eaten your noodles yet, duh!"

"I'm getting mentally prepared," Apollo complained.

"Oh, I was waiting for you! You know, I didn't want to start before you did," Athena retorted.

"You've had enough mental preparation, Polly," Trucy complained. "On your marks, get set, **go**!"

Apollo took a single noodle out of his bowl and began to eat it slowly, a disgruntled look on his face. Athena, on the other hand, took the whole bowl and began to slurp it up, shoveling noodles in her mouth with no hesitation. She dropped her fork, her face puckering and tears welling in her eyes.

"You okay, Athena?" Apollo said, his voice dry and raspy. I looked at him with concern. _He only had one noodle, and he's doing this bad? _I turned to look at Athena. She grabbed her stomach, tears flowing from her eyes. She leaned over and began to puke. Apollo's eyes widened, and he rushed over with a couple of napkins.

"Well, I guess Polly wins," Trucy finally commented, interrupting the silence. "Mr. Eldoon, do you have any water that's not salty?"

"I sure do. It'll be two dollars each." I cringed. _Why do I frequent this place, again?_

"Daddy, do you have six dollars?"

"Six?"

"Some for them, and one for me!" she innocently replied. Heaving a sigh, I forked over a ten dollar bill. "Thanks, Daddy!" she came back holding five bottles of water. She placed four on the table, and proceeded to pour one into her bowl, presumably to water it down. Eldoon grimaced as he witnessed the scene, clearly unhappy about the contamination of his culinary masterpiece.

"Trucy, I thought you were just going to get three!" I complained.

"But you gave me ten dollars."

"I wanted the change…" I pouted.

"Wright, don't hassle her over four dollars. If it's that big of a deal, I'll pay you," Edgeworth jumped in. _Show-off._

Trucy had given the waters to Apollo and Athena. Athena was still crouching over and holding her stomach, and Apollo was making a pathetic attempt at rubbing her back. Athena took the bottle of water and drank a few sips, the grip on her stomach slowly releasing.

"Feeling any better now?" Apollo asked.

"Yeah, I think I'm good. Except for the fact that you beat me, anyway." Athena grinned weakly.

"I didn't really beat you. You sort of beat yourself." Apollo shrugged, still rubbing her back. As they went on, Pearls walked up to them shyly, making sure that the edge of her dress didn't get covered in puke.

"Um… Are you special someones?" She asked.

"Wha- No!" Apollo blushed madly, and Athena burst out laughing.

"Herr Forehead, are you quite certain?" I looked over to see Prosecutor Gavin trying not to laugh. He'd probably told Pearls that they'd make a cute couple.

"...She's just my friend, I swear!"

"I believe that the last time you described her it was as a 'co-worker', ja?"

"Oh, Apollo's not that suave when it comes to girls," Athena jumped in. "If he liked me, he'd probably be too afraid to touch me."

"Where did you get that impression?!" He stared at her in disbelief.

"It's pretty obvious," Athena mused.

"Yeah! Thenie-Weenie's all mine!" I looked over to see that Larry had recovered from whatever Edgeworth had done to him and sighed.

"Can you all stop probing into my non-existent love life?!" Apollo huffed.

"Ach, don't reject her so harshly, Herr Forehead. You have to be kind when you deny your love for someone," Klavier chuckled.

"Yeah! You're gonna crush her dreams!" Pearls pulled up one sleeve of her dress in anger.

"Yeah, Apollo! You have to let me down nicely!" Athena laughed. Poor Apollo looked more than a little embarrassed. _I'd feel bad if he hadn't helped Trucy rope everyone into coming to dinner._

Larry walked up to me "secretively". "Nick!" he whispered. "Is it working?"

"What? What's working?"

"Flirting with the hot ginger! Duh!"

"I don't think it's working, to be honest." That was a massive understatement, of course.

"What do you mean?!" _Note: Be more blunt when confronting Larry_.

"Well, first off, Athena doesn't seem interested in you… _at all_."

"First impressions aren't everything, Nick! You gotta believe in me!"

"Larry… You _do_ know she's about fifteen years younger than you, right?"

"C'mon, you know they say age is just a number!"

"And so is the number of women who have broken up with you."

"Do you think I'd do better with the magician chick?" Larry continued, and I winced in disbelief. "She's a _total_ cutie patootie, and I bet she'd look even cuter without the cape and hat!" _Larry… And Trucy..._The next thing I knew, I was choking on my noodles, and Trucy approached me with a bottle. _No, Trucy! Leave while you still can!_

"See, Daddy? There's no harm in having a few extra water bottles! But I never knew you ordered extra salty, too…" She remarked, her eyes full of naïve concern. Without a further word or clarification, she grabbed my bowl, took a strand and tasted it.

"Huh, you've tried saltier noodles than that before, Daddy… You're not swallowing before munching, are you?"

"T-Trucy, it's fine," I started. The last thing I needed was a reason to have her around_ him. _"I just-"

"Hang on…" Larry interrupted, a scarily focused look on his face. _Oh, no, he's thinking - this can't be good. _"NIIICK, YOU DOOOOG! YOU HAD A KID AND YOU NEVER TOLD ME?!"

"Trucy, go. Now." Trucy nodded, and Larry tried to follow her. I grabbed his arm. Hard.

"Nick… c'mon, just _look_ at her!"

"Larry Butz. If I see you within ten feet of my daughter, I **will **kill you," I threatened.

There was a long pause.

"I'll help, if you need a defense attorney." I looked up to see Apollo, and I got the feeling that he was being completely serious. _I hope he doesn't really think there's going to be a murder here tonight..._

"Get in line, Apollo!" Athena growled.

Larry walked up to Athena and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Oh, don't be that way~" Her eyes widened, and Apollo winced, knowing Larry had just crossed the line. Next thing I knew, my "acquaintance" was flying through the air. He landed head-first in the grass, and didn't move. Athena gasped, and ran over to him cautiously. "Oh, he's still breathing."

"...Daddy, do you think he needs water? I've still got some," Trucy said.

"Don't waste it! Er… I mean, I'm sure he'll be fine."

And so, Larry was left passed out at the side of the road as the festivities continued.

~O~

"I wish Mystic Maya was here," Pearls mumbled. I nodded; I missed her too.

"Mystic Maya?" Athena asked. "Who's that?"

_Oh no._ "She's this girl I-"

"She's Mr. Nick's special someone!" Apollo and Athena looked at me with eyebrows raised, while Edgeworth stifled a laugh.

"You? With a girlfriend?" Athena asked, bewildered. _Is it that strange to imagine me with a love life?!_

"Maya is just a friend of-"

"Mr. Nick! You love her!" Pearls insisted, determined as ever.

"Pearls…"

"You're a lawyer! Do you have proof?" she interrupted, bristling with her own wrath. _Do I have proof?_

"Athena. Get out the Mood Matrix," I commanded.

"What about my bracelet?" Apollo asked, clearly not wanting to be outdone.

"I don't think your bracelet counts as proof to Pearls, sorry." Apollo frowned.

"Ok. So, without any interruptions, who is this 'Maya'?" Athena asked.

"Maya is just a friend that I've had for… What, ten years now? Something like that. She was my assistant back when I was a brand new lawyer."

"... Huh." Athena looked at the screen, tapping her earring with her finger.

"What is it?" I asked. _I don't really have a good feeling about this..._

"Well, you have a lot of joy when you're thinking of her. I kinda forgot that it's difficult to tell the difference between love and friendship on Widget."

"My bracelet could've worked better," Apollo grumbled. _He has a point, I have to admit..._

"See, Mr. Nick? You could love her, and I know you do!" Pearls concluded.

"Argh! What kind of guy likes a girl for ten years and doesn't make a move?"

"That sounds exactly like something you'd do," Apollo laughed. _Says the one who's had a cute girl drooling all over him for months now and hasn't done a thing… _Athena looked at me smugly and we both laughed, clearly on the same wavelength.

"Wright?" Edgeworth asked. "I think I've had enough for the night. I'm quite exhausted." He had a touch of - _...sympathy?!_ \- in his eyes, and I could tell it was his own way of changing the topic for my benefit. _That makes up for the untouched bowl of noodles, I suppose..._

"Aww! Well, it was fun having you here!" Athena called. I nodded.

"I'll see you later then, Wright." Edgeworth nodded and turned to walk down the street.

"I should return home as well, ja?" Klavier added.

"Wouldn't want to miss out on your beauty sleep," Apollo retorted with a smirk.

"Nein. You could use more of it yourself," he chuckled. I tried to stifle a laugh, but still got a glare from Apollo.

"I get plenty of sleep, thank you very much," Apollo said.

Trucy coughed in a way that sounded suspiciously like "Three hours tops." Klavier laughed and walked down the street, vanishing into the darkness.

"So, what do we do after this?" Athena asked. _Go home and start a Gumshoe diet until my wallet fills itself up again. _"Boss, is something wrong?" she added.

"Ah, it's nothing, really."

Athena gave me a skeptical look. "Okay, whatever you say…"

"Mr. Wright, are you sure?" Apollo said, rubbing his bracelet.

"Wright-dono doesn't get a large check in the mail this week," Blackquill commented.

"P-prosecutor Blackquill?! I forgot you were still here!" Apollo gasped.

"Did you think I went home?" Blackquill snickered.

"Why wouldn't you?" Trucy asked, oblivious... then it hit her. "Oh! You just got out of jail!"

"Oh, congratulations, dude!" Larry said, patting the prosecutor on the back. Everyone jumped. "I've been there before, it'll get better!"

Blackquill stared at Larry, a look of skepticism written on his face. Apollo raised an eyebrow looking at me. _You don't want to know, Apollo. _There was a long pause as we looked around at each other awkwardly, all wondering when and why he woke up. Athena cleared her throat.

"Anyway… Simon, do you want to stay over at my house for the night? I know you'll probably stay at Aura's house, but I'm guessing that's easier said than done, huh?" Athena asked.

"I appreciate the offer. Yes, I'd like that."

"Ooh, can I keep Taka for the night?" Trucy pleaded as Apollo shook his head in response, waving his arms overdramatically.

"I'm afraid that Taka needs special care, Magic-dono."

"Aww." she pouted.

"Well, I think we should get going, if that's alright with you," Athena said. "It's been a really long day."

"Yeah, with the whole jail experience and all," Apollo added.

"Says the only person who _hasn't _been in jail," Athena said.

"Hey, Pearls hasn't gone to jail, and neither has Trucy!" Apollo objected.

"Yeah, but you're old," Trucy said. "You've got to get the whole jail experience!" _If Apollo's old, what am I?!_

"A blade is only sharpened under pressure," Blackquill agreed.

"You don't _really _want me to go to jail, do you?! Apollo protested.

Athena laughed. "Come on, we should get going."

"Waaaaait!" Larry ran up to her. "I didn't even get your nuumbeeerrr!"

"I thought you were chasing after Trucy," she laughed, glancing at the blushing lawyer.

"I only did it because I loved you!" Larry wailed. _What is that supposed to mean?!_

"Come, Cykes-dono. We mustn't linger around such incompetence any longer." Larry chased after them, only to come face to face with a hawk for the second time that night. Larry came back again, his spirits dampened.

"Athena's in good hands," Apollo commented.

"He's scary, but nice," Pearls agreed.

"Oh hey, Trucy-woosy! You're still here!" Larry sang, with a lopsided grin plastered on his face.

"Oh, um, hello there." Trucy responded, stunned. _Wow, she could take Dr. Hotti's "examinations", but even she can't take Larry._

"Larry..." I growled.

"N-Nick… after all we've been through…" His eyes began welling up with tears.

"_Larry_._"_

"Fine! I'll just go somewhere else and look for another girl as perfect as her! Even though that'll never happen!" He ran off sobbing, leaving a half finished bowl of noodles and his bill. _Great. Though I'd rather pay for his noodles than let Trucy be corrupted by him._

"Wait!" Trucy sprinted after him.

"Trucy…!" I growled. She looked back at me and winked. _What on earth is she up to?!_

"You need a good-bye hug, Mr. Larry." she insisted, catching him by surprise.

"R-really?" Trucy wrapped her arms around his waist, and the man grinned. When she let go, he skipped off joyfully. She walked back to me triumphantly.

"What did you do?" I asked.

"I just got a little souvenir to remember him by." She held up his wallet, and I laughed. _Part of me feels bad for him, but… _She began flipping through it. "Aww, he's only got twenty bucks."

"I think he'd pay twenty bucks for a hug," I replied. Trucy snickered. I looked at Larry's bill- eight dollars for _one bowl of noodles_. I handed Eldoon the twenty, and he gave me back 12 precious dollars. _Gotta love my daughter. _Trucy whispered something to Apollo, before both of them burst out laughing. I shook my head and turned to the last person standing.

"So Pearls, are you coming home with us again?" I asked.

"Um, yeah. Is that okay, Mr. Nick?"

"Yay, another sleepover!" Trucy called. _And just when I was hoping nobody would hear my sniffling over my wallet tonight._

"You have to actually sleep this time, girls."

"But that's the point of a sleepover! Sleep is over!" Trucy whined.

"Not when you're having sleepovers for a week straight," I warned. I looked over at Apollo.

"Good luck with those two," he said. "I'm going home."

"All right. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah. See you then."

_And 65 precious dollars were lost that day…_

I reached into my pocket and sighed. I felt something inside, and pulled out a small envelope.

_**Wright-dono,**_

_**Thank you for everything you've done today. I'll give you your legal payment for Athena's defense later, but I wanted to relieve a bit of stress from you after today's events.**_

_**~Prosecutor Blackquill**_

Attached were two bills - a $50, and a $20. I smiled. _The Twisted Samurai has saved the Neo Olde Wright Anything Agency once again._

* * *

_**A/N: (CanHalfEmpty) About the price, we decided that each bowl costs $8, making Phoenix's total bill $(8²) + (6 + 1) + (10 - 4) - (20 - 8) - in other words, $[(9 * 8) - 7]; 72-7=65. Thank you, and good night.**_

_**A/N: (MadFox) Me and Can spent a solid hour debating this, just in case any of you actually cared.  
Shenanigans happen when you co-write. Here are my favorite quotes so far:**_

(Can's rough draft)  
"ohno" aploo sed "clay ded wat do"  
feenic laffd "how bout noodlz"  
truuci laffd 2 "yeh noodlz r cul"  
eggie frawn "no wii wach stel smuarri it best shoe"  
en so dey wach sleet saumurai en dey laff de END_**  
**_

"...Some days I wonder if we have actual lives." - Aceredshirt

Try and picture Kristoph snuggling for a moment. It does not work.-Aceredshirt

"Also this means that this is going to be 69 dollars, now…" - CanHalfEmpty

"LOWER SOMETHING" - MadFox  
\- The Conversation That Led Us Into Debating Phoenix's Total Bill Like Obsessed Nerds -


	2. Hopeless

Hey, this is aceredshirt13, one of the (apparently quotable) co-authors of this fanfic. I'm in charge of the author's note this time around. You know how the last one was all humor and stuff? You know how the genre said Humor/Family? Welp, heh heh, nope. Feels will rain down upon you. Take it like a man.

~O~

**H~ Hopeless**

**POV: Apollo Justice**

Finally giving into my exhaustion, I collapsed onto my bed. As I watched the shadows dance on the ceiling, I couldn't help but heave a sigh.

Smiles only last so long when there's no real happiness behind them, after all.

I didn't want anyone to worry about me… I wanted to be fine, just as I always said. The last thing the cheerful atmosphere needed was to be dimmed by my bitter attitude. I closed my eyes, but my mind refused to be coerced into the heavy, sticky feeling of sleep. Instead, it wanted to keep racing, to remind me of all the things I'd tried so hard to forget.

My shoulder felt uncomfortable, so I rolled over. Then my neck felt awkward, so I shimmied around a bit more.

_And __**this**__ is why I don't get any of Gavin's beauty sleep._

I stood up and began pacing around the room. I really wanted to do a Chords of Steel workout, but it was about midnight, and I doubted my neighbors upstairs would approve. With no other option, I slunk back into bed, hoping the waves of sleep would encompass me.

They didn't.

The first thing I thought of doing was to count sheep, like everyone would suggest… Watching them fly into a furnace and get incinerated by its flames didn't really help, though. _How does this even _work_ for people?_

I gave up and leaned against the headboard, switching the light on. Opening a drawer on my nightstand, I pulled out my much-loved journal and flipped to an empty page. Staring at the blank piece of paper, I didn't bother taking out a pen- there were no words that I could write in order to express how I felt_._ _Maybe I'd feel better if I read through some good memories. _

I turned back to the beginning of the book, wondering where to begin reading. Memories that should have been good ones - me and Clay at the beach, me and Clay watching Doctor Who, Clay breaking his nose for the seventeenth time - were now tinted with tragedy, and reading them brought back everything I hoped - and failed - to push away.

Turning the pages towards the beginning, I read through some accounts of the past, avoiding _his_ name if at all possible.

**...I'm sorry****.**** I told myself again and again I wouldn't, but I ended up going to the Wright and Co. Law Offices when Mr. Wright called saying it was an emergency... or the Wright Anything Agency, as it's called now. (What kind of a name is that, anyway?) Just earlier today it had been a talent agency, but they had to expand it to include me - I feel**_** so**_**honored. I ended up getting a job, I guess - I even got a case on my first day… I think. Honestly, I'm not sure what's going on anymore.**

**It turns out Mr. Wright was hit by a car, but he's okay. Just a sprained ankle, somehow. Trucy, Mr. Wright's daughter, decided to take up the role as my assistant, too. She's a nice girl, even if she's a little… out there. Case in point: She's made me help her find her… magic… panties… (Even thinking about it makes me cringe a little.)**

**As if that's not enough, there was a murder, of all things. So to sum it all up, my new... "boss" got hit by a car, I helped a teenage magician find her underwear, and I've gotten myself caught up in a murder investigation… I guess it's better than job hunting, though.**

I couldn't help but laugh at myself. Things sure had changed a lot. I thumbed past a handful of pages and stopped, noticing the case that I'd affectionately named "Turnabout Reclaimed."

**Today Mr. Wright took on his first client in eight years… Without me. I feel a little left out, but I guess I'll get to accompany him soon enough. As for my day "alone", Trucy dragged me along to People Park with her; she apparently wanted to play Frisbee. Of course, it ended up being some magic Frisbee that we had to go looking for once it disappeared. Some kids were really amazed by it, though, so they went chasing all over the park trying to find it. They got to it before us, so now I have to buy Trucy another one… **

**After that, we headed back to the office. Since Mr. Wright and Athena were still off investigating, Trucy insisted that we try and surprise them when they got back. She decided to bake cookies - I'm pretty sure that's the only food she knows how to make - and I got some paperwork done. When the cookies were ready, she stole Athena's wheely chair and sat on the other end of my desk, munching on them (Of course, she ate them all, effectively ruining the surprise).**

**She asked what kind of paperwork I had to do, and I was showing her the different kinds of forms that her dad forces me to fill out. She picked up a few files and started to fill in the blanks; writing the name "Apollo Justice" on a paper 3,000 times was something that Trucy knew how to do pretty well, and it was nice of her to help. It's great having her here during her summer break; I've missed her a lot during the school year. She's always bright and cheerful, even if she can get pretty annoying at times. Oh, hey, it's really late. I guess I'd better go to bed, just in case Athena and Mr. Wright actually need me tomorrow.**

I smiled, and continued to aimlessly flip pages until I stumbled upon an entry about the Themis case.

**Wow… Today was amazing. I'll go back and write about the trial later… I don't have the time right now. Just know that I had to wrap up Athena with sheets, "stab" her in the side, and we ultimately won the case. Juniper was really grateful, of course. It's been a while since I've seen a case end so well for everyone, actually. To celebrate, there was a big concert at the academy. Klavier even performed The Guitar's Serenade, which he swore never to perform again. I definitely enjoyed it… It's the only song I can stand that includes Prosecutor Gavin. Instead of Lamiroir this time, though,it was Juniper that sang. Athena told me that Juniper had a great singing voice but… wow. Let's just say I updated my ringtone, heh. She was wearing Lamiroir's costume, but it had constellations on it in fluorescent paint… She literally shined up there.**

**Juniper's really pretty, though I wouldn't tell Athena that. And she's so kind and sweet, too. Just seeing her face managed to keep me in a good mood during the trial. Every time I was overwhelmed, all I'd have to do was look at Juniper and I'd remember that everything was going to be just fine. I don't think it worked for Athena, though… Widget was lit up like fireworks the whole time.**

**Speaking of exploding emotions, I'd better not talk about Juniper to Athena, or the Mood Matrix would give me away. Why can't I have normal friends that I can lie to?! Clay doesn't have any kind of weird power, but he can still tell when I'm lying (Not that I'm very convincing).**

I winced upon seeing _his_ name, but I continued reading.

**He did ask to talk to me about girls, though. I get the feeling that I'll be confessing my… crush? to him by the end of the week. He's pretty suspicious about the new girl at the agency, and I don't want him trying anything with Athena.**

**Me dating Athena's best friend makes me think of Athena dating my best friend… This isn't a good thought.**

**I don't know why I'm getting so worked up over this. I guess my brain isn't used to pretty, not insane girls. Athena's not too bad, but I wouldn't date her. Even thinking about it feels awkward. Ugh, I'm getting weird mental pictures now. Well, I'm going to go to bed now. See you.**

I smiled a little at the thought of Juniper. From the moment we'd met, she'd always been there for me, even when I'd blamed her best friend for the murder of mine. Granted, she didn't always believe in the truth of my accusations, but she'd believed in _me_ nonetheless. Maybe… she _did _like me in the same way I liked her?

...Or not. After all, what kind of person crushes on someone for months and doesn't make a move?

_Me…_

I wondered what to read next, but drowsiness finally began to overcome me. The thought of Juniper had comforted me; her warm eyes and smile calmed my swirling mind. With what little energy I had left, I switched off the lights and, as thoughts of Juniper vaguely swam in my head, I drifted off to sleep.

~O~

"Apollo! Wake up!"

I groaned. Why couldn't anyone ever let me sleep? I stayed still, hoping that whoever requested my consciousness would just give up and walk away.

"Apollooooooooo!" The determined person shook me, but I still refused to move. Then, I felt a dull pain in my side and I felt myself fall a few feet onto the floor.

"Ow!" I opened my heavy eyes to find my best friend grinning.

"Get up!" he laughed. "Of all the places you could have fallen asleep, too…"

I groaned, my mind still foggy. "Mmm... The museum was closed."

"But really? The robot disassembling table?"

"I haven't investigated with Trucy lately. I missed the excitement of being in danger." I replied with a smirk. Clay chuckled, facepalming with a jacket-covered hand.

"Come on, you were going to watch the take-off, remember?"

"Take off…" I thought for a moment, still feeling drowsy. "Oh! You're leaving today!"

"It took you that long?! How did you get your attorney's badge, again?" he laughed.

"Shut up," I groaned, pushing myself off of the floor.

"Aww, shooting stars! I forgot about my space suit. I should go get it on, huh?"

"That would be a good idea, if you were planning on leaving the atmosphere."

"Uh… Yeah." He looked to the side, and I couldn't help but feel that he was hiding something from me. _I knew it. We've never actually sent astronauts to the moon, it was all a hoax by the government to increase national pride. _"Come on, let's get going!" His cheery grin had returned to his face, and I followed him downstairs into what he called his "dressing room".

"Clay, you aren't seriously going to bring your jacket into space, are you?" I laughed. He wore it everywhere, even in the blazing Japanifornian summers.

"Oh… Heh heh. I kinda forgot that I was wearing it," he replied with a grin. "Do you want to hold onto it for me, just until I'm back?"

"You want me to hold onto your jacket?!" I asked, astounded. Clay didn't let anyone _touch _his jacket, let alone put it on.

"Sure! Just don't break it, okay?" he laughed.

"I won't break your jacket," I retorted grumpily. "Wouldn't it be safer just to leave it in your locker?"

"Uh… Maybe. But… Er…" he stammered. Something was _definitely_ going on here...

"Clay, what's going on?" I asked, in a mixture of confusion and concern.

"N-nothing?" He smiled sheepishly, and I rolled my eyes.

"You're acting like the whole space center is about to blow up or something," I remarked. He looked momentarily startled, but then laughed awkwardly.

"I'm a little nervous at the moment."

"You're fine," I told him with a grin.

"Right! I'M CLAY TERRAN, AND I'M FINE!" We both laughed. He pulled the rest of his space suit on, giving me the heavy helmet to hold.

"You're going to do great out there," I promised. "Your footprints will be on the moon for years."

He grinned. "I'm finally getting my chance to make my mark on a world. Even if it's not technically a planet, it'll feel amazing to be up there, looking down at the Earth with my hero."

Speaking of Clay's fellow astronaut… "Hey… Where is Mr. Starbuck, anyway? Shouldn't he be here, too?"

"He wasn't feeling so good… You know about his space anxiety."

"Oh, right. Did he take his medicine?"

"...Yeah," he eventually replied. I shot him a suspicious glance, and he shot me a sheepish one back.

"Can I go into the lounge with you?" I asked him. "I doubt anyone would mind, since I practically-"

"Sorry, Apollo," he interrupted nervously. "You can wait outside of it, but Cosmos was very clear about not letting anyone go in."

"Clay, what's wrong?"

"N-nothing! I'm **fine**!"

"... Say it louder."

"**I'm Clay Terran, and I'm **_**fine!**_" He grinned at me, and we both laughed. All the same, I couldn't help but wonder about my friend's suspicious behavior.

"All right. I'll walk you over there, though." As we walked, pain started working its way into my head. _I feel like there's something that I'm supposed to tell him… _

"I've got to go. I'll see you soon!" he told me. I gave him a weak smile, and he wrapped his arms around me. I hugged him back reluctantly. There were very few moments when I allowed people to touch me, but seeing Clay reach his dreams was one of them. He grinned, and placed his hand on the fingerprint sensor. As I watched him disappear behind the closed door, I rubbed my aching forehead in frustration. I stood there for several minutes, massaging my temples.

_What was I supposed to tell him…?_

**BOOM**

I gasped as a blast of heat hit me so hard it threw me to the ground. All around me was heat… smoke… fire…

**BOOM**

Before I knew what was happening, I was in Boarding Lounge 1, stumbling around in a dizzy haze. Footsteps echoed through the darkness, and I could just make out two figures - Clay and the unconscious Starbuck.

"Clay! You're fine!" I cried in relief. He didn't seem to see me, though. Instead, I watched him gently place Starbuck on the floor, heave a few gasps of exhaustion, and collapse on the floor. He clutched an odd, cylindrical capsule in his arms.

"What do you know, Starbuck? We made it through alive."

And then there was chaos.

A man appeared out of the shadows and crept toward Clay like a lion preparing to pounce. He stood over the exhausted figure of my friend, seeming to enjoy the gasps of surprise and whimpers of terror. Clay attempted to roll away, but the man kicked him, and he let out a moan.

I tried to yell, move, _anything, _but my muscles didn't respond. Clay kicked the man in the knee, and he fell over. I sighed in relief.

The man simply stood back up as if nothing had happened, and let out a cold, vicious chuckle. Clay was shaking in fear, and I attempted to send a message to him telepathically. _Clay! He wants the capsule! Just give it to him! _Judging by the determination in my best friend's eyes, though, there was little anyone could do to change his mind.

Clay tried to kick the man's leg again, but he didn't fall for the same trick twice. This time, he grabbed his foot and twisted it until my friend yelped. _St-stop…_

Clay gripped the capsule tightly in one arm, and the man tried to kick it away, but Clay's grip was too strong. The man growled, and plunged his knife into Clay's chest.

My vision blurred, and my head began to pulse with the intensity of my own heartbeat. Most people would scream and writhe around on the ground in the same scenario, but Clay remained quiet, filling the dark room with an eerie silence. Clay's eyes widened, and he caught my eye, opening his mouth as if trying to say something, but the words didn't come.

All of a sudden, I could hear footsteps coming toward us. The man jumped, and ripped a glove off of Starbuck's motionless body. He used it to open the door to the rocket, and then dashed back over to Clay. He attempted to pull the capsule out of Clay's grasp, but failed.

"You… lose…" I heard my friend grunt weakly. The man made one last attempt to pull the capsule away before sprinting out the closing door without it. My muscles decided to work again, and I sprinted after him out of the lounge, barely making it. The room began… _moving? - _as soon as I tumbled through the door.

The man wore a face I'd seen before… A face usually grinning and laughing and preaching justice. But this face looked as if the soul had been sucked out of it.

I stood face to face with the phantom himself.

"Why-" I tried to continue, but I choked and fell to my knees, shaking and clutching my chest, which suddenly hurt as if I'd been stabbed there, myself.

_We're so close that I can just _feel_ when something's wrong with him!_

"Why did you - why did -"

"He was in my way," the man replied indifferently. He smirked at the tears that dripped out of my eyes. "Your emotions are useless. Look at what they've done to you… You're just a sniveling heap to be thrown aside." He shoved me, and I collided into something - I turned around to find Athena's sleeping body. I jumped to my feet in a desperate attempt to make sure that I hadn't hurt her.

"Caring about people will only hurt you, Apollo. Think of all of the hurt that your 'trust' and your 'feelings' have brought you."

"You're wrong!" I yelled, but the words seemed hollow, as if I doubted them.

His response was controlled, robotic laughter. He held up a gun, pointing it at Athena's head. "Give up."

Athena stared at me with a empty, childish blankness in her eyes.

"You couldn't save Kristoph… You couldn't save Clay…. You can't save me…" Athena's usually cheerful voice was tinged with bitter malice.

"Athena…!"

"_**It's all your fault."**_

**BOOM**

I woke up with a start, tears flowing down my face. _It's okay… It's okay… It was just a dream… _I sat up in my bed, shaking in fear as the tears continued to flow.

I glanced over at my alarm clock… I had to be at work in an hour. _Come on, Apollo… Calm down… You're fine…_

I managed to get out of bed, despite my shaking body. I took a few deep breaths in a pathetic attempt to calm myself down.

I changed into my suit, although my hands were too shaky to button my vest. I hoped I'd be able to fix it before I got to work. I didn't even bother fixing my hair yet.

_Think of Juniper… Think of Juniper..._

_**It's all your fault.**_

~O~

I stepped into the Wright Anything Agency an hour later with a fully buttoned vest, a bright smile, and a few cups of coffee from a nearby cafe.

"Hey, Apollo!" Athena greeted me enthusiastically.

"I brought you all coffee." I replied cheerfully, holding up the cardboard cupholder.

"Thanks, Polly!" Trucy ran up to me with a wide smile.

"Nope, yours is the hot chocolate. I'm not paying to caffeinate you." I laughed.

"Aww."

"It's got extra marshmallows," I added, trying to cheer her up.

"Really?! Thanks, Polly!"

"Oh, Apollo's here," Mr. Wright remarked drowsily. "With coffee?"

"Yep." He began to pick up a cup from the container. "Oh, you don't want that one. That's Athena's. Unless you think jalapenos taste good in a mocha."

"Hey, don't knock it 'till you try it!" she responded with a grin, snatching up her cup cheerfully.

"I got you a normal mocha latte," I reassured him, handing him the coffee.

"It's nice to see you feeling better," Mr. Wright remarked, happy to see the cup that was now in his hand.

I smiled. "Yeah. So I'm going to get started on my paperwork… Tell me if you have a more exciting job for me." My boss looked back at me with a smirk, and I interrupted him before he could say some sarcastic comment, as his expression forewarned. "Cleaning the toilet is _not _exciting."

Seeing Mr. Wright chuckle in mock defeat, I sat down at my desk and buried myself in paperwork, my cheerful facade dissolving.

After all, smiles only last so long when there's no real happiness behind them.

~O~

(A/N: To cheer you up from that massive downer of a story, here's a quote wall of co-writing shenanigans. (See? We said there'd be shenanigans!) I hope nobody minds our quote wall. If you don't like it, don't read it. We all think it's pretty hilarious lol.)

MadFox: Can we just include every single freaking genre on the whole list

Red: Wait, even Western?

MadFox: YES

Red: So I pictured Apollo wearing a cowboy hat riding Regent the Tiger off through the desert with nothing but his bracelet, instant Eldoon's noodles, and a double-bar reled shotgun. And then he busts into a saloon and punches everyone in the face to see if they're wearing a mask.

Can: why must i be even shorter than _apollo justice_ D;

Can: Chief, just how many times are you going to use the phrase "I flipped"?!

*Red fixes to "I thumbed past a", but accidentally leaves a space out*

Can: "I thumbed pasta…" Thumbed pasta.

Ace: Yes, because pasta thumbing always puts me to sleep.

MadFox: Imagine waking up to find a crowd of people inside of your apartment uninvited, touching your face. Does nobody else find this creepy?

Misa: I first drew Apollo all macho and half-naked. I died laughing.

Red: And then bikini happened.

(le wild Can appears)

Red: Looking at Buffkinipollo?

Can: ...brb, getting brain bleach

MadFox: Apollo was nestled all snug in his bed, while visions of Juniper danced in his head.

Can: The lag kinda helps. If by help you mean being the most unhelpful guy at school that you approach like 'hey, is next class maths" even though you know he's a total jerk and he's all like "well you'll find out once it _is_ next class BUT YOU'LL NEVER FIND OUT" and grabs hold of you and shoves you into a locker and while the teacher wonders where you are and mark you absent you suddenly realize it's actually Science and try to scream but you have no mouth, anyway.

Red: Can, you may want to lay off the cocaine.

When discussing ships:

Red: Apollo/Can

Can: w-w-what WHAT WHAT N-NO

Red: Apollo/Can/MadFox/Manfred

MadFox: NO MANFRED GET OUT I WILL NOT SHARE CAN WITH YOU

Can: ...I'm not sure if this is a good thing or not.

(Later)

MadFox: Can I stop getting accidentally shipped with can? XD

Can: "Accident".

Red: Welp. Looks like destiny brought you together.

Misa: My new OTP

(Later still)

Can: Well, you _do _have the coolest personality of anyone I've ever met-heywaitasecondthatcameoutwrong-

Red: Can stop flirting

MadFox: … The conversation that's going on outside my door, though. Dad: "Do you think (MadFox's brother) would mind having a toilet in his room for a few days? There really is a good place for it in his room… I think we could throw some of his clothes over it and he would never notice." (Later) "Do you think we should clean it first? I know the water's pretty clean, but still…"

Can: They should have cleaned the toilet already! Twice. Each. (Later still)

MadFox: "WHY IS THERE A TOILET IN MY ROOM?!" XD


	3. Electricity

Hello everyone! This is Misa96, one of the authors of this fic and I'm somewhat new to fanfiction, I guess. If there's anything I contributed to this fic so far other than Larry, it's the cover art. XD

Anyways, I'd like to thank you all for being awesome and supporting us!

This chapter will not load you with many feels like the previous one did. And as usual, we have the ever so awesome and random author shenanigans at the end of this chapter. ;D

Oops, I guess I just can't stop rambling. Enjoy reading this chapter, and don't forget to review! :)

~O~

E~ Electricity

POV: Athena Cykes

"The boss has some really weird friends," I remarked once we were out of Larry's range. Taka came flying back, and landed gracefully on Simon's shoulder.

"'Weird' is hardly adequate," he grumbled. "Are we walking to your home?"

"Yeah. It's really close by... I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all, Cykes-dono."

"Heh, I suppose with all the "walks" you used to take during trials, you're used to it," I teased.

"Hmph. I wouldn't have a say in your emotional deductions; I might as well have taken the opportunity to get some fresh air while I was able."

"Well, you can now!" I exclaimed, a grin weaving its way through my features.

"I must thank you for that, Cykes-dono."

"Aww, there's no need to be so formal with a friend," I replied, smiling up at him.

"Would you prefer that I call you Athena?" he asked. A thread of joy wound through his words, though I wasn't exactly sure why. I guessed that it had something to do with me calling him my friend.

"Yeah."

"Hmph. I'll keep that in mind,_ Cykes-dono_."

I sighed, though Widget was green around my neck. "You're so difficult."

"And you aren't?" He smirked.

"Touché." I laughed, looking back in the direction we'd come. In the warm glow of the streetlights, I could see one person in red standing apart from the others. "I hope Apollo's okay," I mused.

"You feel bad," Simon commented.

"Yeah… I mean, I managed to save my friend… Both of them." I smiled up at him for a moment, grateful that he was at my side. "But Apollo lost the person that meant the most to him. His heart is hurting."

"He's certainly a victim of this ordeal as well," Simon replied. "It seems he is the only one who did not

come out of this trial feeling triumphant."

"Well, I don't think anyone at the Space Center was feeling too great," I responded softly. "Mr. Starbuck was hurt too, and Cosmos was demoted…"

"Aura is somewhat pleased with herself," he pointed out.

"True. But it seems like Clay was a really great guy. I mean, I haven't heard one person say anything bad about him. Not even his murderer! And he was best friends with _Apollo_, and Apollo has no friends!" We both laughed for a second.

"I can see why he wouldn't consider you as a friend," Simon replied with a smirk.

My grin faded. "But I can see why Apollo would be upset. Clay's death hurt everybody…"

"The phantom would not have been caught if Clay hadn't died, however." With a jolt, I realized the implications of what Simon had said.

"And then you would die tomorrow…"

"Not necessarily. Aura would still have taken the captives."

"Well, there is that…"

"The two of us would most likely have been declared innocent, but the phantom would be loose."

"I guess you have a point. I mean, the decisive evidence was there. We just didn't have a possible phantom…"

"Nobody questioned Fool Bright. I don't think anyone thought him capable of anything more strenuous than counting to ten."

"It makes you take a long, hard look at everyone you know, huh?"

"Hmph. Do you question me?"

"Heh, nope. I can hear your heart."

"Couldn't you hear Fool Bright's heart?"

"He could control his emotions, remember? I never had any reason to look into them, especially since they were always annoying and over-the-top."

"Hmph, that's quite the insult, coming from the one who cries every time she speaks to the defendant," he chuckled. "Whose heart do you not find annoying, then?"

I smiled warmly. "I love Trucy's, actually. It sounds sweet, but there's deeper feelings behind it that make her kindness and her joy stand out more. Juniper's is sort of soft and gentle sounding, which is comforting to hear. Apollo's is nice, too."

"What does mine sound like?" he asked, seemingly amused. His voice echoed through my ears as I began to process each current of raw emotion.

"You tuck away your emotions a lot of the time… There was always a twinge of bitterness to it before today. It's gone now," I replied with a grin. "It sounds happier… And more free."

"I have you to thank for that," he replied with a slight smile, which I returned full force.

"It was nothing." After shifting my gaze away from him, I realized where we were. "Oh, we're almost at my house," I commented, completely destroying the moment.

"You say 'house' as if you can afford anything larger than an apartment."

"Home is where the heart is!" I replied with a grin and a peace sign. We stepped into the complex, and I greeted the woman at the front desk with a big smile. "Hello, Claire!"

"Athena." She nodded. "Who's this?"

"Simon Blackquill!"

"...Isn't he a murder convict? What's he doing with you?"

"Not anymore!" I replied cheerfully. "He's my second BF, and he needed somewhere to stay for the night." She raised an eyebrow, but didn't question me further- good old "no questions asked" Claire. I grabbed Simon by the wrists and pulled him down the hall.

"Would you mind explaining what you meant by 'second BF'? I'm afraid that being in jail for seven years does not exactly keep me up to date with the latest colloquial terms." I let go of his hand as we left the lobby.

"Oh! It means you're my second best friend." I grinned. "You're pretty great, but I have to say that Juniper's my first BF."

"What about Justice-dono? I would think that you feel a bit more comfortable with him than you do with me."

"I do care about him, and I would consider him a good friend… But I don't think he feels the same about me," I mused. We turned the corner, coming up to the elevator. I went right in, but Simon hesitated. "Are you coming?"

"I'd rather take the stairs," he admitted.

"I live on the eleventh floor. Are you sure?"

"I've had quite enough of being trapped in small gray rooms."

I nodded. "All right… I'll go with you then."

~O~

"Here, you can have my bed, and I'll sleep on the couch," I decided while rubbing my legs, which burned from the long hike up the stairs.

"I can sleep on the couch. I assure you that it will be much more comfortable than the jail bed I've grown accustomed to."

"Aww, I can't do that to you! You're a guest here."

"Which is why it would not do for me to intrude in your space."

"I'm sleeping on the couch. If you want my bed, take it. If you want the other couch, take it."

"I shall take the couch then," he replied with a smirk.

I groaned. "Argh! You're so difficult!"

"As are you." He snickered, failing to conceal the smirk on his face.

"Maybe Taka can have the bed," I laughed.

"He is sleeping in the courthouse for now."

"Hmm, maybe he'll eat any Phony Phanties that he finds."

"Taka has much more refined tastes," Simon grumbled, seemingly offended. I yawned, and he snickered. "I think it's about your bedtime."

"Heh, I'm not a little girl anymore! I don't have a bedtime!"

"I'm quite aware of that," he replied with a slight smile. "Though I do believe that sleep is in order."

"All right, whatever." I stood up and turned off the lights and crawled onto the couch. I tried to look awake, but really I was pretty tired, so much so that I didn't bother changing. It was surprising how quickly Simon fell asleep- he was snoring after only a minute of darkness. _He must be tired, after all these years._

As much as I enjoyed knowing he was finally getting some sleep, I kind of wanted some too. His snores, though, had gone from a peaceful rumbling to full on grizzly bear. I gave up after a few minutes and returned to my own bed, where the snores were no longer audible, and sleep overtook me almost immediately.

~O~

I woke up bright and early to the sound of my alarm clock. Yawning, I stayed still for a few moments, before I finally swung my legs to the floor and flung open the curtains. It was still dark out, and the moonlight reflected off the grass, slick with rain. I got dressed in a comfy yellow track suit, leaving Widget on my nightstand for the time being. I wouldn't need him where I was going.

When I got to my living room, I started, seeing Simon still out cold on my couch. I'd forgotten that he was there, and the sight of him startled me. I was glad to see that he seemed fine, though he was clutching one of my pillows. _Heh...I guess even the "Twisted Samurai" needs a stuffed animal sometimes._ I giggled to myself as I made my way into the kitchen.

My stomach quickly satisfied for the moment with my favorite cinnamon raisin toast, I slipped out the front door and took a deep breath of the cool, early morning air. _Perfect weather for a jog!_ I took off down the block, slowly at first but eventually building up speed. The wind wove through my hair, playing with the ponytail on the back of my head, and, aside from that, the world was blissfully silent. There were no voices, charged with emotions, that I had to tune out.

That's why I always got up early. Even though my abilities could be useful, especially in court, it got tiring to hear the hidden side of every word. My morning jog was a pleasant break for me, where I could just relax and think.

As I ran through the neighborhood, the sun began to lazily make its way over the horizon. It was beautiful, calm, and still. The perfect dawn.

~O~

When I got back to my apartment, I could tell Simon was up. Not because I'd seen him move, but because just as the elevator door opened, I heard I heard a thump and a loud, "Gah!" When I opened the door, I could see him hunched over in my kitchen, glaring and muttering threats at something on the counter. "If you insist on not cooperating, I can easily rip out your inner workings and put them in the blender." His voice was full of crackling anger, not that I needed my talent to tell.

"What's wrong, Simon?" He jumped, and hit his head on the counter above him.

Rubbing his head in irritation, he growled, "This asinine toaster refuses to operate properly."

"Huh, that's strange. It worked fine this morning." I fiddled with my earring, recalling my breakfast. "Let me take a look."

He stepped back. "I suppose that might be helpful. However, if you cannot find a way to repair this infernal device, it _will_ taste my blade."

"What happened to being a guest and respecting my home?" I said teasingly as I walked over. His response was only another glare.

"I can replace this technological blunder with an appliance that is not sold only as a product of false advertising, if it comes to that."

I rolled my eyes and smiled, turning my attention to the toaster. It seemed normal, so I looked at the cord, expecting to see it frayed or damaged. Instead, it was perfectly intact. I raised my eyebrows.

"Did you really just forget to plug it in?"

Simon gave me a look that could disintegrate kittens, and with a fierce jerk of his hand, jammed the plug into the outlet. Sparks flew in protest, but he ignored them, gritting his teeth in annoyance.

"Electricity is a… fickle creature indeed."

The curious mixture of anger and humiliation on his face, combined with the thread of embarrassment in his voice, reminded me of a guilty child blaming someone else for eating a cookie that had mysteriously disappeared from the jar. I couldn't help it; I burst out laughing.

"Silence!" Simon's booming command only made it worse, as his face had reddened even more and he looked torn between hiding or hitting something.

"I'm… S-sorry…!" I choked out between laughs. I calmed down to the point where I stopped laughing, but burst into a whole new fit once I saw Simon's cherry-colored face.

"Are you quite finished?" said Simon, looking irked and slightly pouty.

"I'm sorry… It's just the thought of the Twisted Samurai being felled by a _toaster…" _I snickered.

"Electricity is not one of my strengths," he muttered.

"It's just a wave," I pointed out. "All you have to do is point it in the right direction."

"You make it sound simple."

"Plugging in a toaster really isn't all that difficult to understand," I retorted with a smirk.

"It is far more than just that. It involves the movement of energy through various substances via electrons, as well as all the properties and variations of such an action. It is, in fact, quite complex, though it is also quite easy to maneuver… If you are aware of how to operate it." I was pretty sure that he was just grasping for some remnant of his pride at this point. Even so, his explanation made sense, and made me think back on all of my days in the space center.

"You know, all of this reminds me of when I was a kid."

"Oh?"

"Remember how I used to mix up the robots with people? It's because emotions have always been like electricity to me-a current of energy that weaves through every sentence. They're ever present, and very complicated, but pretty easy to influence."

He tilted his head. "Even with your mother's psychology lessons, I'm unsure of what you're referring to. Pray continue, Athena."

I fiddled with my earring. "Well, I suppose I'm taking a little poetic license when I say that I can hear 'the voice of everyone's hearts'. It's more that each word has a… different feeling to it. Your confusion, for example, sounded like a ripple in your voice. And when you were angry, it crackled, like Rice Crispies."

He scoffed. "Hmph. My fury is far more intimidating than a simple breakfast cereal."

I rolled my eyes with a smile. "I'm so sorry that my example _ruined _your reputation. Can I finish, now?" Simon gave a curt nod and a smirk, so I continued. "But that… texture isn't just on the surface of your voice; it's entangled, inseparable from it. It's just there. And I think we both know that even though you don't completely understand emotions, you're pretty good at manipulating them."

"What does that have to do with anything?" he said, raising an eyebrow.

"You can tell what people are thinking too. That's how you can change their thoughts, and what they're feeling. You can recognize all those little subtle changes, I know you can," I said.

Simon rubbed his chin, a perceptive smirk gracing his features. "Subtle changes… Such as screaming at the witness stand, throwing various objects, or blushing when the name "Justice" comes up?" We both snickered for a moment. "I suppose I can comprehend these poetic descriptions of yours. I never considered this electrical perspective you seem to have, however."

I brushed my hands through my ponytail. "Aw, well, you know…"

He nodded walking over to the counter where the toaster sat. "I suppose electrical appliances do resemble people's emotions in a sense. Feelings form from within, much like electricity."

"Exactly!" I said, grinning. "The current flows out from a toaster, like the voice in people's hearts. Plus, we all react to the feelings we see in others. That's how mob mentality works; it's actually pretty cool!"

"Even though I do not possess the same mastery of psychology that you have, I would not forget that I have at least some knowledge of the subject. I understand the power of emotional contagions."

I put my hand on my hip, grimacing. "Well, yeah, I knew that…"

He smirked again. "Even so, I must agree that what you say is logical. Though… are you implying that this toaster is the same as Ponco and Clonco?"

I made a peace sign. "Yeah! All of them are the same as people!"

"I see, so toasters are human," Simon said.

"Yes! Toasters are human! ...Wait, what?" My face fell as my head caught up with my mouth. I stamped my foot in protest. "Simon!"

The prosecutor laughed, slapping his hand against the counter. "Hahahahaha! Ah, Athena, one must never let down their guard in the face of being told they're right."

I huffed and crossed my arms. The irritation inside me crackled, sounding like sparks of electricity from a broken wire. I glared at the laughing prosecutor in front of me, pouting.

Suddenly, a bark of his laughter resonated in my ears. The waves of emotion echoed, pulsating like a heartbeat. It sounded different all of sudden. There had always been faint emptiness in it, a bitter discord that didn't match up; this time though, I couldn't hear it. All I could hear was the calm, warm wave of energy of genuine amusement.

Simon was happy.

* * *

Quote wall: (These are getting even longer, so if they bother you go ahead and skip them.)

Red: Bada-bing, bada-boom. That would be your skull.

Misa: How come Apollo has bigger boobs than Trucy and Pearl combined in the official DD poster?  
Red: Clearly Apollo has pecs.

We created an AU where all the AA characters are food. Pick your favorite name ;)  
Red:Zucchini Gramarye, Wocky Kaletaki, Miles Eggplant, Kalevier Gavin, Pumper Nickles, Kalestoph Gavin, Miles Eggroll, MANWICH VON KARMA, Gourdot, Lauren Poppyseeds, Lisa Bagel, Glen Egg, Maca Roni (instead of Mack Rell, though technically that works too), Calisto Stew, Salmon Blackbeans  
MadFox: Avocado Justice, Cake Caraway (the great Tiramisu), Leafa Basil, Wesley Potsticker, Simon Blackpepper, Cane's Bullard, Phoenix Rice, HerMAN CRAB, Spark Brusselsprouts, Lance Oregano, Stroganoff Gavin

Red: Why do all this game's friendships and canon relationships all end in death?!  
Lumos: The Anything Agency Family BETTER not end in death!  
Red: Please don't kill anyone else, phantom. You already crushed the souls of Apollo, Aura, and Gumshoe. You're done. Though, technically, there's always the fact that the murders happen in the future, so once America reestablishes their space program, I'm going to LA with a baseball bat in 2016.  
Lumos: Sounds like a good plan. Because the Phantom could easily be defeated with a baseball bat. ;D  
Red: With a legion of similarly armed fangirls. ...Though, we may end up in prison for assault considering that we'll have to get past security.  
Lumos: I suppose that is kind of a problem.  
Red: Well, maybe when a bunch of teenagers take down a global criminal, they might change their minds.  
Red: I think I watch too much anime.

The vast majority of these quotes are just us making fun of Can, soooo… I gathered them in one spot XD

Misa: CAN YOU USELESS PIECE OF TIN. I'm gonna kill him.  
Red: With a cheese grater.  
(Later)  
Red: I really need to wipe off all the blood on my cheese grater. Or I can't put cheese on my pasta.  
MadFox: *sigh* this is why you use a can opener instead of a cheese grater!  
Red: Well, the label does say that you should open cans before you microwave them.  
MadFox: But I wouldn't object to seeing Can in a microwave before he's been opened  
Red: He'll probably explode.  
MadFox: Exactly :3  
Red: You know, I'm just waiting for Can to come on here and call the police.  
MadFox: But he's dead. I mean he's sleeping.  
Red: But if Maya channels him… Maybe that's why he's never on.  
Misa: He'll confess to MadFox and then smooch her.  
MadFox: ...And everything ends with the CanFox ship.

Lumos: I apparently just don't get jokes.  
Can: Sure better than your entire life being one at least, wouldn't you say?  
Lumos: Oh, your entire life isn't a joke.  
Lumos: Just your entire life on this doc.  
Can: Well, I didn't mean to imply that my life w- You got me there.

MadFox: CAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNN LET US LOVE YOU  
Lumos: Is this supporting our Can/MadFox/Apollo ship? ;)  
Red: Don't forget Manfred.  
Lumos: But he's more emotionless than Edgeworth.  
Red: Only the combined awkwardness of Apollo and Can, along with the weirdness of MadFox, can melt Manfred's icy heart.  
(Later)  
Red: But… If MadFox is Chief, does that make Can Diego?!  
Lumos: Umm...Pearls can channel Mia for Apollo? (Because Can is way too Apolloish to be Godot. ;D)  
Red: So I just tried to picture Miapollo as a pairing.  
Lumos: Or Manfred could suddenly become a girl and a spirit channeler and then HE could channel Mia and then MadFox/Can/Apollo/Manfred would work. ;D  
Red: New OTP.  
Can: …*blink* I… I'm just gonna back away now.  
(later)  
Can: I'm not confident enough to actually do Athena.  
Can: ...T-that came out wrong *NOT CONFIDENT ENOUGH TO ACTUALLY WRITE ATHENA  
Lumos: Can...I don't know how to react to that. (Adds it to the quote wall)  
Can: ...My image doesn't need to go down even more than it already has.  
Lumos: But it could be Can/MadFox/Apollo/Manfred/Athena shipping. ;D  
Can: ...How would that even work in bed- Actually don't answer that question.  
Lumos: You didn't have to ask it.  
Can: I know I didn't... _

Can: ...What is my life- Why is my life…  
MadFox: We don't have lives, remember?  
Misa: But Ace Attorney is our life! D:


	4. Doubt

Hey, everyone! Lumos314 here! :D Those of you who know me know that I like to talk. So be prepared for a longer note today, to pair with our relatively quickly updated chapter (Compared to my stories, at least.). ;D Now that MadFox isn't taking week long vacations, we can actually get work done in a reasonable amount of time. ;) Plus the fact that I won't be doing an author's note for a few chapters, and it took me forever to perfect this one.

I also like to be technical. As of last chapter, all order fell apart and I ended up writing. So I'm not just an editor anymore, WHOOP! (Quoting AA is also pretty fun. ;D)

This chapter has been REALLY difficult. We basically took all the feels from chapter two and multiplied them by a million. It was hard to write, hard to edit, and will prob'ly be hard to read. Be prepared for angst and deep set but inaccurate self-images.

Oh, and I realize that it looks like all I do on here is tease MadFox and Can and say terrible things that end up being funny. I really do help write, though! I swear! I can show you a screenshot if need be… (Oh, there I go again. You'll get it later.)

Anyway, after my terribly long ramble, enjoy the chapter! (Well, you won't, but...You get the idea. ;D)

(And if anyone catches the Layton reference...Well...Emmy… *tear*)

~O~

D~ Doubt

POV: Trucy Wright

I took the lid off my hot chocolate as Athena sat down at her desk, jalapeno coffee in hand. Apollo was already knee deep in paperwork, his cheerful grin dissolving into a look of sheer seriousness. Convinced he was trying to hide from us, I leaned over to my daddy. "Someone doesn't want to clean the toilet," I whispered with a grin. I settled back down into my chair and took a sip. It was warm, and the melting whipped cream gave me a little mustache above my lip.

Daddy wrapped his arm around my shoulder. "Hahaha! He's still doing it. Twice." I grinned, but with a quick flick of his hand, he swiped the cream off my face.

"Hey! I was going to eat that!" I huffed, hands on my hips.

"You should know better than to leave it in my reach." He smiled, and took a sip of his own drink before changing gears. "Trucy, it looks like we all have paperwork this morning. Do you remember what that means?"

"Homework," I grumbled. "But I don't have that much, and it's the first _real _day of Winter Break!"

"Didn't it start yesterday?"

"Well, yeah, but it's kinda hard to do anything when you're being held hostage in the Space Center!"

He looked at me skeptically, and let out an exasperated sigh. "You're going to want to get it done now, so that you can enjoy your Christmas presents when you get them. And since we'll all be working, it would be a good time for you to get started, too. But it's your choice."

"I'll do a little bit, I promise." I smiled. "But since I just spent weeks studying for finals and then being locked up, I want to have at least _some_ time to relax."

"Speaking of your exams, how did you do?"

"Hmm… I got an A in everything but Math, which I got a B+ in." Daddy looked at me sympathetically, knowing how hard I'd studied for the final. "But I still got an A for the semester!" I beamed. "Oh, and I don't know my score for my history exam… She said they'd be posted by…" I looked at the clock. "About twenty-three minutes ago."

Athena perked up from her desk. "History exams are the worst! How many questions was it?"

"Oh, it was a paper, actually. A group project that I did on Google Docs. We had to pick a decade and write a presentation about pop culture and major events during that time. It was really exciting, because we got the 2000's, and that's when Daddy decided to become a lawyer!" I grinned, bouncing happily.

She flashed a peace sign. "Fantástico! That sounds like a lot of fun."

"I know! I interviewed Daddy, since he was there for some pretty important stuff. I even got to write a segment about the DL-6 incident!"

"She did a great job," Daddy affirmed, smiling. "You should go and see what grade you got."

"Okay! I'll go and check right now!" I grinned, and dashed upstairs. By the time I was comfortably seated at my small desk, I had already logged on to my laptop and was loading our group's Google Doc. All four of us were on it, and we'd each picked our own color to type in so that our teacher could see who worked on what. I looked at the top of the document to find the message she'd left us.

_**Alexis: 100%**_

_**Alli: 98%**_

_**Megan: 92%**_

_**Trucy: 0%.**_

My stomach flipped. _I worked so hard on this… Why would I get a zero? Oh, my group members probably changed it as a prank._

After what felt like forever, the chat window finally opened and I typed my greeting into the box.

_**Trucy: Hey, guys!**_

Nobody responded, although the site said that my classmates were on.

_**Trucy: Haha, it says I got a zero. Really funny, guys ;)**_

_**Megan: Lol she doesn't know**_

_**Trucy: What don't I know?**_

_**Alexis: That's your actual project grade.**_

_**Trucy: Lol I'm not falling for that. What did I really get? :)**_

_**Alli: It's seriously a zero lol.**_

_**Megan: LMAO**_

_**Trucy: Stop it, guys. This isn't funny anymore!**_

_**Alexis: No it's not. We're dead serious.**_

_**Trucy: But there's no way! I worked ten times harder than you!**_

_**Megan: Lol I dunno why. it's not like you need good grades to become a professional idiot. You don't even need to be in high school hahaha**_

_**Alli: Oh, she's probably scared that her dad's gonna get mad at her. Maybe Mr. Lawyer will sue you, Megan XD**_

_**Alexis: Oh no, she might get grounded from doing magic and have to get a social life.**_

_**Trucy: Guys! Seriously, what's going on?!**_

_**Alexis: We recolored your part of the project before Ms. Gided came on. Thanks for the points ;)  
Trucy: You're kidding. You didn't really do that.  
Megan: Lol if you don't believe her email the teacher.  
Trucy: She knows I'm a good student! I wouldn't slack off this much on a final exam!**_

_**Alli: Oh no, I'm sooo scared of Ms. Gided's wrath. It's three against one. Who do you think she'll side with, her straight A students or the gay magician girl?**_

_**Megan: LMAO**_

_**Trucy: Seriously! This isn't funny!**_

_**Alli: Lol calm down. Why don't you get some help from that murderer that you're friends with? He can come in with his little Samurai Sword and save the day lolol**_

_**Megan: LMAO**_

_**Alexis: Maybe you do need the points, if you can't even make your problems disappear.**_

I shut the lid to my laptop, trying desperately not to cry. _It's ok, I'll just tell Daddy. _

I ran downstairs, trying to compose myself. When I got there, I saw him just about to leave the office. _I thought he was going to tell me when he left… _"Daddy, wait!" I latched onto his arm, holding him back.

"Trucy, you need to let go. We're defending Susan's father tomorrow, and we have to get investigating." He pulled his arm away and then rubbed my head, knocking off my hat.

"But I need your help!"

"Trucy, it's not the time. You need to work on your homework. I can help you when I get back."

"It's important!"

"Trucy, I love you, but I need to go. Our client could be put on death row for this crime, and he's counting on us to walk into court tomorrow prepared. I know you understand that." His voice was soft as he smiled and walked out the door, but I caught something that froze me in my tracks.

_He scratched his neck when he told me that he loved me._

_He only does that when he's lying. _

I could feel myself going pale. I'd always known that I was annoying; when Apollo joined us, his reactions to me had only confirmed it. Plus, the kids at school never passed up a chance to tell me I was obnoxious. Even at home, I could tell that I'd been a burden to both of my daddies, and when I made them smile I knew it was only temporary. Over the past couple of weeks, though, I'd noticed little things building up. Conversations that would stop abruptly when I walked in the room. Little tells here and there when I teased people or made jokes. It made me suspect that I wasn't always wanted.

But I'd never even dreamed that I was_ that_ worthless.

~O~

I stared at my laptop, the latest chain of emails blurring together as I read them.

_**Ms. Gided,**_

_**I just looked at my grade on my project, and it says that I got a zero. That can't be correct, can it?**_

_**Trucy,**_

_**I'm sorry, but that's your score. It seems that your group members have done all the work on the project, so I have to account for that in grading.**_

_**Ms. Gided,**_

_**But I did do part of the project! My group even told me that they recolored my part before you saw it!**_

_**Trucy,**_

_**I'm disappointed in you. Your group members are all very good students, and I can't believe that they would try to sabotage your grades like this. Up until now, I thought you were trustworthy, so I'd like to believe you, but the evidence is not in your favor. I'm going to need you to prove to me that you're not just avoiding responsibility for your mistakes.**_

_**Ms. Gided,**_

_**I'm trying! I can screenshot the page, where they told me that they recolored my part. Please, you have to believe me. I'm not lying, I swear!**_

_**Trucy,**_

_**I am quite aware of the technology of our age. It would be incredibly easy to photoshop a screenshot. So, unfortunately, that does not qualify as evidence against three of my most honest students. You need more definitive proof in order to persuade me. Unless you can find some, you need to work this out on your own. **_

_**Ms. Gided,**_

_**I did the whole part about the DL-6 incident! I interviewed Mr. Edgeworth myself! I could get him to sign a paper saying that I interviewed him! He's the Chief Prosecutor, so he's really trustworthy!**_

_**Trucy,**_

_**I'm afraid that I don't care much for the courts. My brother has served time for false charges. Your family friend is nothing more than a liar in my eyes, Miss Wright. **_

I choked out a sob. _Even my favorite teacher hates me…_ A few tears dropped on my laptop, and I wiped them away with my cape. _What am I supposed to do now? I can't ask Daddy; I don't want to bother him more… maybe Polly will be willing to listen._

I went to the bathroom and washed my face, hoping to erase any traces of tears, before I went downstairs. He was still at his desk, behind his paperwork, and I could hear a few snores.

"Umm… Polly?"

He jolted awake, pulling his head away from his arm. "Wha…" He yawned and turned towards me. As he rubbed his eyes, I noticed they were slightly puffy, and I could guess why. It wasn't exactly the time of year for allergies. "Oh, Trucy."

"Sorry I woke you up…"

"It's fine." His hand twitched - his nervous tell.

"Umm...I'm not bothering you, am I?"

"Nope. I was just...resting." There it was, again.

"Oh. Okay." I sat there, decidedly unlike my usual cheery self. I waited for him to notice me, tease me, _something_ besides yawn and glance at his computer. _If he really cares, he'll ask if I'm alright. _But we sat in silence.

"Did you need something?" he finally asked. I waited a few more seconds. _Please, Polly!_

"I, uh… Are you ok?"

"Huh? Me? I'm fine. Why?"

"You look like you were crying."

Apollo jumped. "Oh, uh, my sleeve is only wet because I was asleep. I must've drooled or something." _Huh, his sleeve is wet. I didn't even notice that._

"Your eyes are really puffy."

"I was asleep. Of course my eyes are puffy."

"And I can see your nervous tell."

"Trucy…" Apollo grunted. "Please, leave me alone."

"Polly…"

"You don't understand how I feel right now!"

"Lonely? Upset? Abandoned?" _Because that's exactly how I feel._

He cringed. "Those are just words to you, Trucy. You wouldn't understand."

I forced a grin, doing my best not to cry. "You're right, I'm only a teenage girl." Again, there was a pause. _Come on! I didn't even try to hide my tell…_ "I wouldn't understand at all." I hopped to my feet and bounced up to my room, unable to hold back my tears any longer.

~O~

"I'm Trucy Wright, and I'm fine!" I watched myself bounce in the mirror, trying to look as blithe as possible. I'd been repeating the same action for about ten minutes, but I could still clearly see my tell.

"I'm Trucy Wright, and I'm fine!" It was my cheeriest voice, so I'd maybe fool Athena, and I was trying not to think of my secrets to avoid showing Daddy any psyche locks. No matter how hard I tried, though, I just couldn't make my eye stop twitching. It was slight; no one but Polly would ever spot it. But I couldn't risk them knowing how upset I was. _I've already screwed up enough today. If they don't like me already, I'll be even more annoying if I sit around sulking all day. I wouldn't just be useless, I'd be a pain._ I had to have this perfect.

"I'm Trucy Wright, and I'm fine!" I only had to control my emotions better. I'd been doing it for so long, I'd thought I was pretty good at it, but today clearly proved me wrong. I was overwhelmed, and hadn't thought before I'd acted. I couldn't make that mistake again, because it was only making Polly's problems worse. He had an analytic psychologist to cheer him up, if he needed support.

"I'm Trucy Wright, and I'm fine!" _Stupid eye. Maybe I could wear sunglasses. I could tell Polly that I'm trying to shield my eyes from his shiny forehead. _I found a suitable pair among my stage props and put them on.

"I'm Trucy Wright, and I'm fine!" Now that my feelings were sufficiently hidden, I could work on making that phrase come true. _Maybe t__he exam didn't hurt my grade too much. _I looked up my grades on my school's website, waiting anxiously for my scores to pop up.

_**Quarter 1: 323/400  
Quarter 2: 361/400**_

_**Semester exam: 0/200**_

_**Total: 68.4%- D+**_

_I'm not even average._

I took a deep breath. I had to stay positive.

...It didn't work.

_I'm Trucy Wright, and I'm screwed._

~O~

**BZZT BZZT**

I groaned, sitting up in my bed. _I was almost asleep, too…_ I'd decided that taking a nap would be the best way to calm down, but it wasn't working very well.

**BZZT BZZT**

_All right, I'm coming._ I grabbed my phone off the table and checked the message I'd just gotten. It was Daddy. _**We're going to be a while longer...There's been an important new lead. Sorry, Truce.**_

_**It's fine, Daddy. :)**_ It was a lot easier to be alright over text. No tells, emotions, or psyche locks could give me away.

It buzzed again. _**How about we decorate the office when we get back? To make it up to you.**_

_**That sounds great! Thanks! :D**_

_**You're welcome. :) Maybe wrap your presents in the meantime?**_

_**All right. See you soon! :D**_ I sighed, glancing at my closet full of presents. I gave myself another minute before gathering them all on my bed, along with shiny, sky blue wrapping paper and tape.

Christmas wasn't usually a major event at the agency. Daddy told me once that he took one of the most important cases of his career on Christmas Day, and neither Athena or Apollo had much to do with the holiday as a kid (that didn't stop Athena from singing Christmas Carols the week before Thanksgiving, though). Daddy decided that we should get each other something small, since nobody could really afford too much, anyways.

I picked up a long cord of navy, red, and sky blue string, and wondered how to wrap the over-sized friendship bracelet. I'd made it to cover Widget's boring gray cord, and I hoped it would please Athena. It made me happier to know that she would never lie to me- she was as transparent as glass. If she liked my present, it would be clear.

It was nice to see her smile at me without a nervous tic or a strange color from Widget… It always helped me feel like I belonged, even though she didn't talk to me much. I placed the long cord in an empty peanut butter jar and wrapped it in the shiny blue paper, writing Athena's name in sharpie on the top.

For Apollo, I'd made a small scrapbook. It had each of his cases in it, and a few souvenirs. I opened the front page to find an Ace of Spades, a grape juice bottle label, and some photos of those involved in the case. The next page was full of fingerprints, shoe prints, panties, some photos, and an expired Eldoon's coupon. The next page contained, among other things, a Gavinner's CD, signed by the god of rock himself. Flipping through the scrapbook cheered me up, though it reminded me of our previous bitter conversation. I wrapped it solemnly, hoping that I hadn't upset him. _Why did I have to lose control of my emotions?! Conceal, don't feel, put on a show. If I make just one wrong move then everyone will know._

For Daddy, I'd bought a _Dating for Dummies _book as well as _Steel Samurai for Dummies_. Pearls had paid me to include a card that said _**So you can understand your special someone better :)**_, so that was included. Hidden in the pages of the books were various photos of some of his old friends, as well as four five dollar bills that I'd gotten from my show at the Wonder Bar the previous day. (Not that he would ever find them).

I yawned, and looked out my window to see if the sun had fully set. The world was as dark as it could be in the depths of Los Angeles, which wasn't all that dark. Despite this, something glittering in the sky caught my eye. I stood up and walked up to the window for a closer work, and after a moment's inspection, I discovered it wasn't moving. It was a single, shining star. Stars were hard to see in the city, and something about it gave me a twinkle of hope. A childlike surge of superstition rose in me as I remembered how, whenever I could find one as a kid, I would wish on it. I wondered if I was too old to do the same now, but I decided it couldn't hurt. "Please," I whispered. "All I want is to know I belong, that I'm not just a burden for everyone to deal with. I know it'll take a miracle, but I want it more than anything." Even though I knew it probably wouldn't do much, I felt at peace, and ready to tackle the rest of my presents.

I looked at my present pile, which was still rather large… _Now, which one was for Pearls, again?_

~O~

"Hey, Truce! We're back!" I slapped the last piece of tape on Uncle Edgey's present and looked at my pile of fully wrapped gifts proudly.

"Coming, Daddy!" I looked in the mirror one last time, saying, "I'm Trucy Wright, and I'm fine!" before heading downstairs. When I got there, Athena was grabbing the stepladder to climb into our small attic and grab the decorations, and Polly's eyes were looking much better. _Maybe things aren't so bad after all._

"Ack! Athena, watch where you're going with that ladder!" Apollo yelped.

"Oh, sorry Apollo! But it's actually a stepladder." Athena grinned.

"What's the difference?!"

"A stepladder's much more complicated," I commented.

"And much more stable," Daddy added.

"But it's still a ladder, isn't it? I don't think I have to be specific when there's a large metal object two inches from my face," Apollo argued.

"But it's not an ordinary ladder, it's so much better! It's like calling Daddy a lawyer, and putting him in the same class as you!" I retorted.

"Hey!" Apollo scowled. "I mean, both me and Mr. Wright get to Not Guilty verdicts, just like a wooden ladder and a **step**ladder both help you climb. So what's the difference?"

"I'd feel a lot safer climbing a stepladder," Daddy mused.

"It doesn't matter what kind of ladder I climb, I'll still feel afraid of heights," Apollo grumbled.

"Hey guys, I got the box of decorations! Can someone hold them so I can safely climb down the **step**ladder?" Athena called.

"Yeah," Daddy replied. He picked up the large box with little effort and set it down next to our Christmas tree. I opened the lid of the bucket and took out a Steel Samurai ornament. "Here you go, Mr. Charley!"

After putting up a magic hat ornament, a piano ornament that daddy had hit with a hammer to represent his abilities, a ten of hearts card, and several others, the box was left empty.

"I bought a star at the Space Center… So that we never forget what happened there," Athena said, pulling out a glittering Christmas tree topper.

"Can I put it up?" I asked.

"Charley's a little tall for you," Apollo noted.

"I'm not that short!" I grumbled. Athena handed me the Christmas tree topper, and I reached up to put it on the tree. I was tall enough… With the help of the hula hoop that I'd accidentally stepped on. I tripped forward, knocking Charley over as we both tumbled into the ground. I heard an awful shattering noise as shards of glass broke through my skin.

"Shoot!" I heard my Daddy say. "Apollo, can you run and see if you can get a pot? There's a supermarket next to Eldoon's."

"Y-yeah!" Apollo bolted out the door.

"Trucy, are you alright?!" Athena asked.

"I… I think so…" I tried to stand up, but bits of glass cut into my hands. Athena grabbed me around the waist and helped me to my feet.

Charley's pot had completely shattered, dirt and bits of glass scattered everywhere. The star, as well as several ornaments, were in pieces as well. I gasped. _What did I do?! _I opened my mouth to speak, but I was scared that Athena would hear my emotions, so I ran into the bathroom, locked the door, and cried silently. I looked into the mirror to find several cuts oozing blood down my face, mixing with my tears to create an orange color.

"Poor Trucy," I heard Athena say from the other room.

"Charley's gone through a lot… But Trucy just might be too much for him," my Daddy chuckled. I knew he was joking, but the words stung. Charley had been with Daddy through the hardest times in his life, and yet it seemed that I was the most difficult time of all.

Tears fell silently down my face, splattering the floor with orange.

_It's pretty obvious that I'll never belong. So much for my wish._

_Maybe a miracle is just something that doesn't exist. _

**llllllllllllllllll****lllllllllllllllll****llllllllllllllllll****llllllllllllllllll****llllllllllllllllll****lllllllllllllllll****lllllllllllllllll****llllllllllllllll****llllllllllllllll**

Continue to cry… It's ok, I know, I cried too. Take a nice, deep breath… Here, I'll even cheer you up with a nice little (gigantic) quote wall! :)

Can: ...Is that why I got hate mail for starting World War II this morning?

Can: ...It was an accident.  
MadFox: "accident".  
Can: Yes, an accident.  
MadFox: I don't think that word means what you think it means, Herr Forehead.  
Can: (I don't think the word "forehead" means what you think it means, either.)  
MadFox: Then what do you think I think it means? Because I mean what I say and I say what I mean, by all means.  
Can: ...Meanie.  
MadFox: #comebackswithcan

MadFox: If hope is a thing with feathers, it explains why I've found 4 dead birds in the past week.  
Can: ...Just four? Wow, you're lucky.  
(later)  
MadFox: Who knows, they could've turned Kristoph into a good guy.  
Lumos: That's kinda impossible at this point.  
MadFox: I can hope.  
Lumos: Be prepared for a lot of dead birds, then.  
(Still later)  
(MadFox and Lumos are making debating over Apollo's lame end-game speech)  
_Apollo: There's hope now. We'd lost it, but somehow, we found it again. That's why people are smiling again… Hope.  
_MadFox: I guess he stopped finding dead birds.  
Lumos: Yup. Just dead best friends.  
Lumos: ...I feel like such a terrible person, but I can't stop laughing.

Misa: Stupid timezones. You guys are roughly 12 hours behind me :(  
MadFox: Misa's struggling with some tough shift. XD  
Lumos: Guys, I just discovered that it's really hard to eat a melting ice cream bar without dropping it on your laptop while laughing your head off.

MadFox: (At the ending sentence) _I always hated the color orange._ XD #greatendingswithMadFox

(Misa abbreviates One True Original Character Pairing and Red completely misunderstands)  
Red: I would read a fanfic with the author's Overlord Totalitarian One Crazy Pairing.

MadFox: NOOOO CAN YOU KILLED IT.  
Lumos: Can?! Why?!  
Can: OH. PLEASE EXCUSE ME WHILE I GO AND TAKE A KNIFE AND SHOVE IT THROUGH MY FACE ...Is that even logistically possible

Can: You were _meant _to get into AA, weren't you?  
MadFox: Yep. It was DESTINY  
Lumos: No. It was your _density. _

Red: The deeply insulted fanfiction author retreated to her Pokemon-pl ushie-fill ed lair, contemplat ing life, liberty, and the pursuit of fictional lawyers.  
MadFox: … Don't judge the Pikachu.  
Red: Pikachu must be judged!  
MadFox: Pikachu will kill you in your sleep. With electric bolts of FEELS.

Lumos: No. That's just this chapter.

Red: Not if I'm guarded by an army of Geodude. They cause earthquakes of childhood father murders.  
(one intense internet pokemon battle later)

Red: Red flees the battle because her trainer insists she clean her room!

(Looking at weird Deviantart images)

Can: If Phoenix marries Apollo, in theory, Phoenix would become Trucy's adoptive father, as well as her brother-in-law. Apollo would become Trucy's biological brother, as well as her adoptive parent. And that's reason #158972358 923 Why Apollo Hasn't Married Phoenix.

MadFox: (Still a better love story than Twilight)  
Misa: (What about Manfred and Franziska getting married and having a kid named Adolf?)  
MadFox: (Still a better love story than Twilight)

Can: Gothca.

…

MadFox: You're so much like Apollo, it's uncanny. (No pun intended)

Can: (I have a feeling that pun was very much intended.)

MadFox: (I swear it wasn't I literally died after typing it XD) LITERALLY died. Like, I'm dead right now.

Can: Woah, heaven has wi-fi?! Cool!  
MadFox: I love how you assume that I went to heaven. Unfortunately for you, I've risen from the depths of hell to see you again.

Lumos: True love knows no bounds. ;D

Can: Lumos. LUMOS.

Lumos: What did I do? * while laughing hysterically*

Can: ...Let's not even start.

Lumos: This chapter is making me want to cry a lot. Tears of sorrow...And tears of mirth.  
(later)  
Can: Looks like I have to go for the day.  
MadFox: DON'T DIE.  
Can: I won't die. I promise. (well no guarantees actually)  
Lumos: You don't need to worry, MadFox. Remember, true love knows no bounds.

(Talking about Apollo's next chapter)  
Can: You mean Chapter 56?  
Can: …I MEANT** SIX.  
**MadFox: Welp, we have to add in 50 chapters between December 21 and December 31. We've got this.  
Lumos: ...If you wanna count by 11.2's, Can, then that's fine by me…  
Can: Chapter 5- Phoenix blinked. Chapter 6- Phoenix reached for the phone. Chapter 7- Phoneix entered Maya's number and asked if she could come over for the Christmas party he was planning. Yeah, we've got this alright.  
MadFox: No, too short.  
Lumos: I think It's fine ;)  
Can: Chapter 5- T. Chapter 6- o. Chapter 7- o. Chapter 8- B. Chapter 9- a. Chapter 10- d. Chapter 11- :P. Any better?  
MadFox: Phoenix's eye twitched with anticipation, the skin of his eyelids itching to close. With a deep breath, Phoenix willed the whites of his eyes to succumb to darkness, as blindness overtook him. He opened them again a moment later, light flooding his eyes and greeting him into the world once again.

Lumos: *isosceles trapezoid of applause* ;D  
Can: ...Well, thanks for demonstrating just why I call you Chief again.

MadFox: Do you like the corpse in my room? My brother decorated it with candy.

Lumos: Hey, Can, I sent you a PM on fanfiction. Did you get it?  
Can: Yeah, I'll get onto it now.  
* 20 minutes later*  
Can: Done.

MadFox: Are you planning on publishing your novel?  
Lumos: Took you long enough.  
Can: It was just twenty minutes!  
MadFox: (Only he can get away with using "just" like that.)  
Lumos: Are you sure you sent it? It's been five minutes and I think I'm going to crash Chrome from hitting the refresh button so much.  
MadFox: Mozilla MadFox crashed. XD

Lumos: Okay, I responded, Can. Also, my response to your predicted response to the last line of my last response is: "Yes. I did just say that."

Can: Thanks for saving me the time and effort to ask you if you did indeed just say that.  
*Somehow, we all lose this conversation before it could go up on the quote wall, leading us to recreate quote*

Lumos: I suppose we can just guesstimate. *Types up the gist of it* Can, go see if you're in character.

MadFox: HAPPY UNBIRTHDAY TO YOU  
Can: WHY THANK YOU SO MACH SEVEN ELEVANESENCE

(After noting that all life crises in AA happen at Christmastime, this sort of just happened. Nobody is accepting responsibility for starting or adding to it.)

DYING AROUND THE CHRISTMAS CHARLEY

HAVE A SUCKY HOLIDAY

EVERYONE'S SOBBING TERRIBLY

IN THE NEW OLD FASHIONED WAY

YOU CAN GET AN AWFUL, GUILTY FEELING IF YOU HEAR

VOICES OF YOUR DEAD FRIENDS SINGING

"IT'S YOUR FAULT THAT WE'RE NOT LIVING"

CORPSES AROUND THE CHRISTMAS CHARLEY

HAVE AN AWFUL HOLIDAY

FILLING YOUR LIFE WITH MISERY

IN THE NEW OLD FASHIONED WAY


	5. Insanity

It's our fault you're not living. We're filling your life with misery, in the new old fashioned way-

...Oh, wait, none of you would get that. it's been so long since the last chapter

I'm CanHalfEmpty, and I personally apologize for the long delay - it's really my fault. It's so much of my fault that I'm hijacking the author's notes to apologize.

MadFox: It wasn't JUST his fault. I mean, it was disproportionately his fault, but he and some of our newbies got us back on our feet. We've got one new recruit and two in training (my friend and Lumos's _boooyyyfrieeennnd _both need to finish Dual Destinies). But for now, welcome Dances-like-flames to the party! Due to school life, our numbers have been diminishing, so the new guys are very helpful.

We hope you enjoy! :)

~O~

I- Insanity

POV: Phoenix Wright

I'd woken up peacefully for once, beams of sunlight streaming through the window. It was nice, getting to wake up on my own instead of having Trucy rush in and shake me vigorously until one of us got hurt. _Huh. She must have been exhausted from that sleepover with Pearls. _

I got up leisurely and made my way downstairs. It was silent-it seemed to be just me for a while. I made myself eggs for breakfast, feeling strangely motivated to actually cook something, and set some aside for Trucy before I retrieved the mail from its haphazard pile on the floor.

_Bill... Bill... Ad... Bill... _After setting aside all the things that wanted to take away my limited supply of precious dollars, I still had a surprisingly large stack left over. There were a few Christmas cards from past clients- Adrian Andrews, Lamiroir, Max Galactica (including a picture of his two-year-old and grinning wife Regina, who still looked as beautiful as she would if she wasn't eight months pregnant) and Iris; an invitation from Will Powers to see him onstage playing the Steel Samurai in a brand new stage show; and a letter from University of Southern California for Trucy. _Next she'll be getting letters from Harvard and Yale... My baby girl is growing up. _I blinked my watery eyes, hoping that if I refused to acknowledge it then the problem might disappear in a brilliant cloud of colorful smoke.

Finally, I was left with only one letter. I opened the envelope and scanned through it:

_Merry Christmas, Nick!_

I bet you didn't expect this so soon, did you? But I couldn't miss out on sending you a present, and I forgot to wish you an early Christmas in my last letter, anyway! Now, you're probably wondering "Hang on, where's the present?" aren't you? And I have an answer to that: You're throwing a Christmas party, and I'm gonna be there! Pearly's already there anyway, and it sounds like you need to take your mind off those exploding courtrooms, right? XD Speaking of that, you'll definitely have tell me all about it… while we watch The Steel Samurai: A Twin Hope, of course. I haven't gotten to see it since I sent my copy to you back in April!

_See you there!_

_Maya Fey_

_P.S. You better have lots of burgers ready, or I might just eat you!_

I blinked a few more times, staring at the page. _Wait, what?!_

"Maya!" I said aloud, jumping up and scrambling to get the office looking moderately presentable. _There goes my relaxing morning, _I thought as I grabbed a broom and started to sweep up the infinite amount of dirt still on the floor. Maya never clearly said when she was coming, but once she got here I'd be so busy trying to prevent further chaos that I wouldn't have time to clean up anymore.

There were magic props strewn about, clothing items from unknown sources, a pile on the couch of evidence for the trial-

_**TODAY'S**_ trial.

_Of course a morning this nice is too good to be true._

After scooping up the pile and leaving a hastily scrawled note asking Apollo and Pearls to finish the cleaning, I took off running in the hopes that I'd catch Athena before the prosecution did.

(O)

_"Whoooop!"_ Athena grinned and pumped her fist as the usual mysterious confetti began to fall. "That was close. I can't believe we won!" The two of us began to head towards the defendant's lobby, followed closely by our client.

I nodded my head, returning her smile. "You did a great job in there. If you hadn't been able to figure out that the culprit was allergic to strawberries using Widget, the whole case would've fallen apart."

"Thanks, Boss! You did awesome, too. You bluffed like a true pro right through their key witness."

I slumped. _Should I be thanking her, or threatening to cut her pay?_ Before I could decide, Susan walked in, eyes glittering with relief.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Wright." Her smile trembled, but it was clearly not from sadness. "I don't know what I would've done if I'd lost my father, too."

"All we did was find the truth, and we couldn't have done it without your testimony," I replied. _Though, I have to admit that we were pretty awesome._

"Thank you," Susan's father said gruffly. The man looked like an oversized teddy bear, spoke like a member of the mafia, and had the heart of your average human being. "You did well. I will make sure you are well reimbursed for the trouble you went through."

"Thank you," I replied, grinning.

"It wasn't a problem at all!" Athena added. _Dear Athena: if there's one thing you don't do, it's talk about how easy your case was while the client is trying to decide how much to pay you. _

"I can't believe it all came down to that bowl of fruit salad in the victim's room, though," Susan remarked.

"We've seen even stranger," I replied. At least it hadn't all come down to Larry Butz's testimony, or the far more trustworthy testimonies of a parrot or assassin.

"Yeah, we've cross-examined orcas!" Athena exclaimed. _Yeah, if there's one guy who smells fishier than Orla and more potent than a certain aromatic French male maiden, it's the Butz._

"Orcas? Wow, I'd like to question a killer whale someday!"

"No, you don't, Susan," her father replied. "Leave that to your lawyer."

I was about to reply when the Steel Samurai theme song filled the defendant's lobby, so I picked up my phone. "Hello?"

"Nick! It's me!"

"Maya?"

"You bet! I'm at your office! Pearls is getting her Super Samurai Slap ready, though, so you'd better have a really good reason for being late."

I groaned and hung up. "Athena, we've got to go. And we might just need to pick up a hockey mask on the way home."

"Hockey?! Oh, I'll beat you to a pulp! That's my favorite winter sport!" she exclaimed. _...Whatever floats her boat, I guess. Or sinks the Titanic, if we're talking about winter sports._

"Well, I guess we'll just get going. Have a great day, guys," I said, turning to our clients.

"You too, Mr. Phoenix, sir!" Susan cheered.

(O)

The office practically had "Maya was here" written on the front door-I say practically because it looked like it was written in dry erase rather than sharpie. _Well, looks like she's growing up. _

"Boss, what's going on in there?!" Athena asked, referring to the sounds inside. I was pretty sure that I could hear an angry cat amidst the demolition of my poor office, but I wasn't entirely sure.

As soon as I opened the door, the cat darted out of the room, almost knocking me over. "No! Come here, Skitty!" someone yelled, shoving me as they ran out the door.

"Hey, Nick!" Maya exclaimed, running to the door.

"What did you do?!"

"I said that you were going to throw a party, but you didn't invite anyone. So I found your phone in a couch cushion and did my best impression of you!"

"I missed you." I laughed, and she went for a hug.

"Wow, you're Master Maya?" Athena asked.

"The one and only!" she chirped.

"Mr. Nick! You're here!" Pearls exclaimed. _Oh, man, we forgot the hockey mask!_

"Hey, Pear-!" _She slapped me. _

"Mystic- Master Maya is home, and you weren't there to greet her?!" she huffed.

"Lives were at steak!" I retorted, rubbing my face. _Wait… Not that kind of steak. _"Wait… Master? Maya, don't tell me…"

"I'm all done with my training! Merry Christmas, right?"

"Wow, that's amazing, Maya. I'm so proud of you, you know."

"I know you are," she giggled.

"I just can't believe it. I mean I can, but… You know. You've really grown up."

"You think so? I tried finishing that law book- the thousand page one, just to see if I was grown up enough to do it. Guess how far I got?"

"How far?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

"I got to the fifth page! I had to re-read the first and second pages again, since I didn't remember them after seven years. But my attention span has gotten so much longer!" She grinned, and we both laughed. I hugged her again.

"I missed you so much."

"I did, too. Kurain gets so boring. That's why I needed to party now that I'm done!"

"You deserve it," I said, and meant it. _But I don't think I deserved having to arrange the darned thing… _Maya yanked my arm. "Ow! What are you doing?"

"This is a party! So join the party!" she exclaimed. "I'm sure you could use a break, too." _I'm sure I could… But I think our definitions of "break" are much different. _

Sighing, I walked into the room and took a look at the damages, and my smile quickly turned upside down. "Maya!" I whined. "Why did you invite-"

"Niiiiiiick!" Knowing what I was in for, I turned my head towards where the voice came from. "And the hot ginger, too!" My worst fears confirmed, I turned away from Larry. _It was bad enough dealing with you back at Eldoon's… _"Scuse me, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Uh, yeah, whats up?" my poor understudy asked. _No, Athena! Don't do it! _

"I just wanna let you know the back of your head is _RIDICULOUS_!"

"Uhh, thanks."

"So listen, umm, I was wondering, can I have yo number?"

"No, I… I, uh… I don't give it out to strangers."

"Aww, Athena! We aren't strangers! We're best buddies! Right, Nick?" Larry asked. I put my hands up in surrender; there was no way I was getting into this.

"Look, I just had a really difficult trial, and I just want to relax… _Alone_," Athena said pointedly.

"Oh ok, ok, I respect that. ...So I can't have it?" _NO! Take a hint!_

"Uhh, no. I just don't give it out."

"Oh, ok, I get it. You're being all selective 'cause you got a ponytail. Right? You think men can't handle the regalness of an up do, right?" _...What is...?_

"No, I'm not being anything because I have a ponytail!"

"Oh, Athena! Don't be insecure, girl. OWN that ponytail! WORK that up do!"

"Okay. Will you leave me alone now?"

"Yeah, but I just have one question first. Can I have your number? Could I have it? Could I have it? Could I please receive the secret code that if entered telephonically it will pass me through to you which means it will be your beautiful number?"

"Boss, do something!"

"Why don't you just throw a police officer?" Apollo yelled from across the room.

"Oh, does my baby know taekwondo?"

"Just leave me alone!" Athena yelled, flipping the agency's table over.

Suddenly, the entire cacophonous party came to an abrupt halt. Staring at Athena, nobody uttered a word as I tried to think of a way to break the silence… It soon turned out that I didn't need to, though.

"Hey there, cutie, is it me, or is that the mistletoe above us?"

With a loud slap coming from Athena and Larry's general direction, the party once again sprung into life.

"I see your subordinates are well equipped to deal with all that comes with being a lawyer," a voice said. Turning, I locked eyes with the only person in the room who had any mental stability, and I sighed in relief.

"Edgeworth, how did Maya convince you to get into this mess?"

"I, err…"

"She told him that she had a copy of _The Steel Samurai: A Twin Hope_," an unfamiliar girl replied.

"Who's this?" I asked, pointing at the girl.

"This is Kay," Edgeworth replied.

"Aww, way to go for the boring introduction! Even in the depths of night, when no other bird dares to take flight, one alone soars to shine the light of righteousness on the world's blight! And that one is me! For I am the Great Thief, Yatagarasu!" she cheered.

"Edgeworth? In cahoots with a thief?" I laughed.

"I assure you, she hasn't stolen a single item since we met almost a decade ago-"

"Heh, that's what you think!" Kay interrupted.

"A decade ago…" The words suddenly rang a bell in my mind. "Oh, I do recall hearing about you. Kay Faraday, right?" I asked.

"The one and only!" she replied.

"So why do you go around telling _prosecutors _that you're a thief if you have- or haven't- stolen anything?" I asked.

"Because I steal what only the righteous can steal- the truth!" she chirped.

"She's nice to have around as the chief prosecutor," Edgeworth commented.

"I steal the truth about all the corrupt dealings in the prosecutor's office!"

"If I'm suspicious about a prosecutor, she'll go in their office and investigate after I get a warrant from the Judge. She's really transformed the Prosecutor's office for the better," Edgeworth said, almost proud of the girl. Kay itched her nose smugly, in a way that no other human being could pull off.

All of a sudden, a bird landed on my head. "Seems like a bird's finally found the nest that is your hair," Edgeworth said with a smirk.

"Trucy! What the heck?"

"Sorry… I was trying to do a magic trick."

"Don't worry about it, sweetie. Just see if you can gather them up before they mess up my hair any more." I replied, scratching the back of my neck. By now, my bad luck was nothing surprising... but _mosquitoes?_ In the _wintertime?_ _Really?_

I sighed. _At least it's better than getting run over by_ another _car..._

I heard a disgusting squirting sound, and the bird flew off my head. "_Trucy!_" I ran into the bathroom, fearing for the worst- and indeed, there was a white puddle on my head. Groaning, I attempted to wash my hair in the sink, not emerging from the bathroom for at least ten more minutes.

When I finally did emerge, everything had spiraled into chaos.

There was a man- err, child in a 30-year-old's body- who'd been beaten about as much as Cool Whip passed out on the floor at Athena's feet, some girl I barely knew drawing a mustache on him while Edgeworth watched with a smirk, and well-dressed doves flying all over the office and leaving white splotches all over the place.

Merry Christmas indeed.

"Nick! You got me a present, right?" Maya exclaimed.

"It's not the time for that, Maya. We've got to get those birds caged."

"I'm sorry, Daddy…" Trucy seemed pretty upset, but she was back to smiling in just a few moments. "I'll get them right away!"

I did wish she showed just a _little _more remorse for what her bird did to my hair, but it wasn't the time for that. I loved my baby girl too much to ruin her Christmas Eve.

"Don't worry, sweetie," I replied, itching my neck again. I walked over to Apollo. "Hey, do you have some kind of mosquito cream or anything? My neck is killing me."

"Huh?" Apollo peered at the back of my neck. "Ack! It's as red as my shirt!"

"Tell me about it. It's just my luck, huh?"

"I thought your luck meant getting hit by a car, flying 30 feet, hitting a telephone pole _headfirst_, and walking away with only a sprained ankle."

"Well, it was bad luck to get hit by a car, right? But it was good luck that I didn't die. But still, my bad luck overrides my good luck."

"It's all dumb luck to me," Apollo grumbled. His eyes looked lifeless, and I frowned.

"Are you doing alright?" I asked. "I know this has been a hard Christmas for you."

"I'm fine. You don't need to worry about me," he said, putting on a smile.

"All right, if you say so. Just know that your old boss is always here if you need him." I grinned, and Apollo grinned back.

"Yeah, gotcha."

"Daddy! I got them!" Trucy exclaimed, holding up a bird cage.

"Thanks, Trucy. Do you want to go grab your presents now?"

"Oh, yeah!" She disappeared like the average muggle, running toward her room.

"Hey, everyone!" I yelled. The party sounds died as everyone turned to look at me. "I don't know what Maya told you… Did you bring gifts or anything?" I got a bunch of muffled 'yeah's. "Well, I think we were going to do some kind of present exchange. Do you want to sit down?"

Everyone gathered on the agency's couches, and Kay dragged a moustached, sleeping Larry across the room to half-join the festivities. Now that everyone was sitting, I realized that the mass chaos had been created by far less people than I'd guessed- just Maya, Pearl, Juniper, Larry, Apollo, Athena, Franziska, Edgeworth, and Kay.

I smiled, thinking that I might have actually bought everyone there presents, but I frowned when I saw Kay and Juniper's cheery faces. It was one thing to not have a present for a girl that I barely knew, but I really felt bad for not getting anything for Juniper. _Wait… Maya didn't invite Juniper, did she? Athena was with me the entire morning! _

I gave up trying to understand my female assistants for about the five thousandth time, and just smiled.

"Daddy, I've got mine!" Trucy exclaimed, hopping into my lap.

"Oof! That's great, sweetie."

"Um… Actually, may I go first?" a quiet voice pitched in.

"Juniper?" I asked. She nodded. "Sure, go ahead."

"I, err, knitted scarves. Mostly. I have one for everyone, I think." _Oh, man, now I really feel bad. _She pulled out a bag and handed one to everyone- Apollo got a really nice black one that had red streaks to match his suit, Athena got a turquoise one with yellow and gold threaded through, Trucy got a blue one with silver thread, and she even had one for Kay. (As for Larry, Juniper draped a piece of yarn over his sleeping figure. "If I didn't think he would try to flirt with me, I would've given him my orange one," she'd remarked.)

Franziska seemed surprised when a silvery blue one landed in her lap, to say the least. "Have we met before?"

"I don't think so," Juniper replied. "But you're a friend of Mr. Wright's, and I had some scarves still laying around…" she trailed off, knitting a scarf (devoid of hearts) in her embarrassment. Finally, she turned to me.

"I heard you like beanies?" she asked.

"I do indeed," I replied. She smiled shyly and produced a warm looking blue hat with silver lettering. Grinning, I picked it up, and spun it so I could read what it said- "Ace Attorney". _How about that? _"Juniper… This is really incredible. Thank you." Guilt swamped me as I put it on; it fit perfectly- snug on my head, but not so tight that it crushed my hair.

"You've done a lot for me in the last week, Mr. Wright… It's my way of saying thanks." She smiled. "I'm planning on paying you, too, of course." _Either I'm dreaming or this is a Christmas miracle. _

"This is really sweet of you, Juniper," Apollo said with a smile.

"It's so soft!" Athena exclaimed, rubbing the turquoise scarf on her face.

"You're all so kind…" she said, blushing. Her fingers fiddled with her knitting needles, and I watched as color poured out from them, twisting into a pink scarf. The girl was talented, all right.

"Phoenix Wright," someone said, and I turned to see Franziska von Karma. _Wow, when was the last time I saw her? _The last seven years had only done good to her appearance- _I guess she's 27 now- _and her whip was nowhere to be seen. _That can't be right. _

"Yeah?"

"I have something for you. I wouldn't suggest getting your hopes up, because I was not alerted that any Christmas exchanges would be taking place, but I've waited a long time to give it to you." She handed me an envelope, and inside there was a card- not like a Christmas card, but more like a playing card. I pulled it out and looked at it.

"What is this? Is that my face on it?"

"You'd be a fool not to remember that card, Phoenix Wright." I studied it closer.

"Maya, did you draw this?"

"Huh?" Maya walked over to look at the card, only to laugh.

"What?" I asked. "What is it?!"

"Forget about your face for a second, Nick. What's that card?"

"...A shell?" I frowned, but a sudden realization hit me like a Thinker clock. "Shelly de Killer!"

"Aww, that was a fun time! Were you scared, Nick?" She grinned.

"Huh? What's so special about the card?" Athena asked.

"Can I see it?" Apollo asked. I handed it over to him, and he grinned. "I remember hearing all about this case. Your client was guilty, and you made sure that you got him what he deserved…" He had a thoughtful, subdued smile on his face. "Everything was on the line, and you still chose justice."

"That sure sounds like the boss!" Athena exclaimed. "What else happened?"

"We can have story time later, Athena," Apollo replied. I grinned at him, and he returned the same thoughtful smile. _What I wouldn't give to have the mood matrix right now. _"Right now, it's Christmas."

"Right! I've got something for you, Apollo!"

"Athena, don't you want to wait until tomorrow for that one?" I strongly suggested.

"Fine… But Junie's getting her present right now!" She pulled out a box that was covered in 3D flower stickers and grinned, passing it to her friend. Juniper smiled and picked up the package, opening it gently as if she didn't want to rip the paper. After what seemed like four hours, she finally got the thing opened, and she pulled out a wooden object.

"Is this…" Juniper examined it closely and beamed. "It's a gavel!" It had intricate flower carvings etched into the glossy wood, and I was definitely impressed. "It's beautiful…!"

Everyone in the room seemed impressed by the thing but Larry, who was watching the ordeal with groggy ey- _HOLY CRAP LARRY'S AWAKE LARRY'S AWAKE!_

"Not as beautiful as you," he said with a not-so-sly grin. Juniper looked at him, seemingly shocked.

"Don't you DARE even LOOK at my Junie!" Athena cried.

"Your Junie?" Larry's face fell. "So, wait, are you..."

"Yes! Junie is my girlfriend!"

Half of those present gaped and stared, while the rest shouted something along the lines of "What?!" Juniper resumed knitting, seemingly unaffected.

"I-it's true..." I recoiled, but then the world flashed as chains slid around the pair, and I could barely stop myself from laughing. _Fighting fire with fire, huh? That's what he gets for freaking out Apollo with his homosexual antics, I suppose. _

Speaking of Apollo, I noticed him staring intently at the two of them in confusion, and I could see Trucy's eyes fade from a look of sheer concentration to one glimmering with laughter. _They must know, too. _

Athena swung her scarf around her and Juniper's shoulders, and was poked with a knitting needle when she attempted to lock hands with her. "Ow!"

"Love _hurts!" _Larry cried- quite literally. Tears glimmered in his eyes, and he ran out the door, wailing.

"Hmph. And just as I was about to give him a taste of my whip for Christmas," Franziska growled.

"Don't worry, he'll be back," I retorted, rolling my eyes. "So, who's next?"

The gift-giving continued pleasantly- Franziska received thesauruses from a well-meaning Apollo, a well-meaning Athena, a less well-meaning Kay, and an Edgeworth. Fortunately, Edgeworth had hidden some gift cards inside- one for some fancy restaurant, another for some fancy spa, and another for some fancy boutique, so the group was spared some serious tongue and whip lashings.

Maya had a "secret" gift for Edgeworth, but I knew what was inside, of course- a copy of the _Twin Fated Samurai_ (or something like that, I can't say I cared too much) and some exclusive cards that Maya had received because of her role in the inspiration for the Pink Princess.

Pearls bought Edgeworth some fancy looking tea, but I knew from my limited experience with the drink that Edgeworth hated it. Regardless, Edgeworth seemed to enjoy the gesture.

Edgeworth bought Kay some sort of Bad Badger hair stick, as well as some gift cards, and Kay returned the kind gesture with a homemade book called "Having Fun for Dummies", full of tips from her and Gumshoe. _Why isn't Gumshoe here, anyway? I'll have to ask Maya later. _

After a long time of festivities, everyone went quiet. "Are we done?" Athena asked, looking at the gobs of wrapping paper on the floor. Everyone looked around and began nodding their heads.

"Actually… I've got something," I said, feeling a bit awkward.

"Is it for me?!" Maya butted in.

"You get your gift tomorrow," I retorted.

"Oh. Well, where is it? Who is it for?" she asked.

"I hid it upstairs. We can't have Edgeworth trying to open his gift early." I laughed, but I was a little nervous. I mean, what could I get for the guy who has enough money to buy my entire law firm thirteen times over?

I grabbed the long, flat package from under my bed and wiped the dust off, hoping he wouldn't notice it. I almost tripped and broke it on my way down the stairs, but it remained unscathed due to a conveniently placed magic prop under my foot that caught me. _Heh, maybe Apollo was at least a little right about my luck. _

"Alright, Edgeworth. Here you go." I handed it to him, and he took it while examining me with his analytical gaze. I wasn't all that anxious at first, but watching him open the gift with such precision - _Maybe I should have used less tape? _\- was freaking me out. I hadn't put my art skills to use since I started college, and they'd probably gotten rusty. Plus, with Edgeworth's picky, almost snobby aesthetic taste, how could I be sure...?

"...Wright. I didn't realize you were this talented."

I blinked. _Maybe he needs a new glasses prescription. _"I wanna see!" Athena cried.

He held up the painting so the others could scrutinize it too, and my face felt a bit hot. I'd painted Edgeworth's glasses in black, given it a boring gray background, and filled the lenses with colorful depictions of the things that had transformed the Edgeworth of ten years ago into the Edgeworth he was now. I'd painted pictures of Maya and Pearls, psyche-locks, and Franziska whipping people, as well as Shelly de Killer, Dusky Bridge, some badgers, and a King of Prosecutors trophy. "You know… I thought there might be a better way to remember the past than hanging up your old laundry," I said, breaking the awkward silence. "But… You like it?"

"I do… I suppose I'll have to replace my dusty old laundry," he replied with a smirk. I grinned, relieved that he liked the gift.

"Hey, Nick! We've got to watch the Steel Samurai movie! Someone- I'm not naming names- only came to this party for the quality entertainment, after all," Maya butted in, ruining the almost sentimental moment that I was having with the emotionless Chief Prosecutor.

"All right… Any objections?" I asked.

There were a few generally displeased and confused faces, but the show had to go on, according to Maya.

_**When the moon is bright with a pale blue light and trouble is nearby...**_

(O)

It was well past midnight - there had been plenty of shouts of "Merry Christmas!" and the return of a horrifying, flirty Santa with gifts for all of the women- when the party finally started to break up. Franziska had whipped Larry until he'd fled before gathering her coat and affectionately touching her new scarf.

"Phoenix Wright." There was a look in her eyes that reminded me again just how much she'd grown. Back when we sparred in court, all that I'd ever seen there was hatred and anger and pride. But tonight there was a softness, a wisdom that surprised me. "Thank you. For everything. Even beating me in court." And then she smiled. A real, genuine grin rather than the trademark von Karma smirk.

I smiled back. "You're welcome, Franziska… It was fun beating you in court." Her eyes narrowed, and I laughed. "You know I'm kidding. Mostly. But you know, It's amazing to see who you've become."

She nodded at me and then smiled again, only to turn around calling, "Pearl Fey!" and strode out the door with the confused spirit medium at her side.

Next came Edgeworth, yawning, and Kay, still bouncing with energy. _How is she still so awake?!_

"This was more pleasant than I expected it to be," he said while Kay pouted.

I laughed. "Is that your way of saying you had fun?"

He smiled back. "I suppose it might be."

"Aww, come on you frilly fop! We have to go finish up Gummy's present for tomorrow!"

"Has it crossed your mind that we aren't going over until the evening? We have all day."

"Aww, but I wanna play with Miles and Phoebe!" Kay whined.

"I'm sure the twins will be happy to see you whenever you get there. But I, for one, would like to get a good night's sleep due to the current lull in chaos."

"What are you two arguing about now?" I asked.

"Ah. Gumshoe and Maggey invited us over for Christmas dinner," he replied. I frowned. "Were you not invited?"

"I don't think so…"

"Hmph. I'm sure he mailed the invitation to the wrong address or something of the sort. He's still Gumshoe, albeit far more successful. I'll bring it up to him before tomorrow- I'm sure he would hate to forget you. Maggey too."

"I guess. I hope I'll see you tomorrow, then. Enjoy your painting."

"I will… Thank you. Goodnight, Wright. Merry Christmas." He nodded and walked out, Kay right on his tail.

As soon as the door closed, it opened again, revealing an unreadable Pearls. She called Trucy over and the two of them started whispering. Rolling my eyes, I turned to find myself face-to-face with Juniper. She was wearing a scarf I hadn't seen before, deep green with sunflowers carefully woven in. "That's a lovely scarf. It suits you." I said with a smile, causing her to blush.

"Thank you. I'm just glad you liked your beanie."

That pang of guilt hit me again. "It's amazing, Juniper. You know, I feel really bad for not getting you anything."

She smiled in her sweet, shy way. "It's fine, Mr. Wright. Everything you've done in the past week is more of a present than I could ever ask for. I just hope that I can somehow make it up to you."

"Well, you don't have to worry about that." I shook her hand and smiled. "Merry Christmas, Juniper."

"Merry Christmas, Mr. Wright."

I waited until I saw her leave and get into a taxi from the office window before I turned around. "Alright. So, all of you are staying here?" Everyone nodded. "Well, Trucy and Pearls, you're sharing a room as usual; Maya and Athena can share the guest room; and I set up an air mattress in my room for you, Apollo. Unless you'd rather sleep out here."

"No thanks!" He hurriedly shouted, and dashed up to his not-so-comfy bed. The two girls were talking quietly in the corner but they went upstairs after a few moments. That left me with just Athena and Maya.

"G'night, Boss! I'll see you tomorrow. Or, well, today." She grinned, yawning, before heading for the stairs followed by a sneaking Maya.

"Oh, no you don't!" I said. "Maya, you got me into this and now you're helping me get out." I tossed her a trash can. "Start with that and then help me with the sweeping. Apollo cleaned this place so well this morning and it all got messed up again in a matter of moments."

She sighed, pouting. "_Fiiiiiiine_. I suppose I can help you since I did plan the whole thing."

_I knew she'd grown up, but I didn't expect it to be by that much!_

She laughed. "But my present tomorrow better be totally worth it!"

I grinned back. _But she's still the same old Maya I know and love. _

Quote wallllll!

MadFox: Anyways, it was a plot revelation worthy of running through the streets, forgetting to put clothes on. (I did not run around stripping, mind you XD)

Lumos: I'm glad.

Red: Aww… That's disappointing.

Lumos: Um…

Red: I wanted video…

(later)

Can: ...I'm very, _very_ glad I happened to miss out on this moment.

MadFox: I had a EUREKA moment XD

Red: That day was a beautiful day.

Misa: Can, I'm pretty sure you feel the opposite. ;)

(Still later)

Can: The 12-hour silence that followed your comment expresses exactly how I feel about it.

Misa: It's the timezones, sweetie. Besides, who knows what you were thinking the whole time? :P

MadFox: I'd guess he was thinking about music and other basic human needs. :P

Can: Music is a basic human need? Sounds about right.

MadFox's younger brother: once upon a time there was a young lad named hotti. he liked butts, preferably guy butts. like i mean 50-90 year old ones, like the one of can.

Lumos: Now Can's a pedophile? (Poor Can)

Can: ...If you don't mind, I'll just sit here, getting traumatized for life.

Lumos (Agreeing with Can's plot idea): I second Can's motion.

Can: Notion.

Lumos: ...Since when has the phrase been "notion"?

(Later)

Lumos: I looked it up: It's technically motion, but both work.

Can: *muffled grumbling*

Red: I second Can's notion of locomotion.

Red: NOW BACK TO THE SWIRLING HELLISH VORTEX THAT IS OUR CREATIVITY

Red: At some point really late at night, I thought of what might happen if all of us had to come together in real life and save the world with our superpowers. This is how little of a life I have.

Lumos: Well, with MadFox's impersonations, Can's awkwardness, Misa's insanity...

Red: Ace's invisibility

Lumos: …Red's...randomness? And I'm totally stumped on me.

Red: Lumos's... relative normalcy?

Lumos: … HA HA HA!

Lumos: No. I'm not normal.

Red: Lumos's...wizarding powers?

(After a few days and much discussion, we decided. MadFox is an Ace Impersonator, because of her awesome ability to write completely in character, Red is an Ace Reality Warper because she always says the most random things, Can is an Ace Techno Master, because he's the guy we call on for computer help, Ace is an Ace at being Invisible, because she doesn't come on the doc that often, Misa is an Ace Mind Controller, because she says things that can "simultaneously confuse/scare [us]", and Lumos is an Ace at being Invincible, because "nobody ever makes fun of Lumos". This was also drawn up in picture format.)

MadFox: Can looks distressed lol

Misa: That's because he's not standing next to you. /3 And he doesn't trust Red.

Red: No one trusts me… *tears* But the real question is, _should _you trust me? (And Can looks like Glen Elg)

Misa: I trust you. And yes, he does. That makes Maddie a Lisa Basil.

Lumos: Guys, you weren't supposed to tell anyone her secret identity! That's SuPer Admin Restricted Desktop Access password protected!

(And now new people have joined and it's all insanity. XD)

MadFox: MISAAAAAAAAA

MadFox (After realizing she typed in Can's color): Oh look I'm Can. *blink* ...I'm just going to go now.  
MadFox (As Can): Sorry I haven't been on much… I wish I had some kind of excuse, but I really don't, besides the fact that I wrote a really cool song while I was gone (that you guys probably don't care much about)

MadFox: Aww, I want to listen to it! :D Is it a silly song with Can? XD

MadFox (As Can): ...And this is why I was writing music instead of writing fanfiction.

MadFox: NO CAN STAY WE NEED YOU 3

MadFox (As Can): ...I know you do.

MadFox: (My Can impersonation tho)  
Can: ...I'm just here, getting creeped out for life.  
MadFox: My Can impression is so Canny that it's uncanny! :D

(During MadFox's study hall)

MadFox: ...And teachers can see our google docs at any time.

Can: HELLO IN CASE MADFOX'S TEACHERS ARE READING THIS WE ARE DOING NOTHING INAPPROPRIATE AND AGAINST THE RULES AT ALL. WE ARE ALSO MAKING VERY EFFECTIVE USE OF SCHOOL TIME. THANK YOU AND GOODNIGHT.

(After MadFox posts a picture of the struggle bus)

Can: I still don't know if that bus takes the right turn at Albuquerque.

MadFox: I doubt they do

Ace: They never do

MadFox: They always go left

Lumos: But Phoenix isn't on that bus, because he always goes Wright.

Lumos: Heh, I'm just that special. ;D Go ahead, bask in the awesomeness of me, the amazing trumpet player. ;)

MadFox: You're amazing, and you're a trumpet player, but I wouldn't call you an amazing trumpet player. ;)

Lumos: Ouch. If I could play with good tone and actually hit a decent range, then I bet I'd sound amazing. ;D

MadFox: If I sounded better, I might sound good. ~Lumos

Can: _You guys_ never _fail to do the impossible, stretch beyond it, grab the stuffed tuna hidden within the depths of Mars and back._


	6. Sincerity

MadFox: Hey, guys! Woah! I know! This story isn't dead! It's updated for the first time in like a year! But our writing team did some backflips to actually get this written down. Man. There's going to be a huge party when we finish this story. The team is now made up of a whole new set of nerds: myself, Lumos314, Misa96, Dances-like-flames, and LilacWinters. So basically there's only 2 members of our original crew. Whoops.

Well, this chapter's pretty angsty, so buckle your seatbelts. It's time to conduct Symphony again!

~O~

S- Sincerity

POV: Apollo Justice

I'd always hated mornings. It was something about the atmosphere… The bright lights, the half-dead people…

And it also probably had something to do with the fact that there was a magician standing over me with a water gun, shooting me in the face.

"Polly! It's Christmas! It's already 6:30 and we haven't started opening presents yet!"

I groaned. "Can't you just shake me or something? Maybe after I've gotten more than four hours of sleep?"

"Nope! That's not very much fun. Plus, I'm a kid! We're supposed to wake our family up early to open gifts!"

She sounded like Clay after a sleepover… Only that I normally found Clay standing over me with shaving cream, silly string, or once even a pair of scissors.

_He's dead. _Reality shook me awake more than a water gun ever could, and I felt my stomach drop with realization. I took a deep breath, and let the sadness ripple through me before I allowed myself to do anything I'd regret. I then opened my eyes and put on my typical face.

"Do we have coffee?" I grumbled.

"Well, no. But if you _really _want coffee _that _bad, I can get some from my magic panties!" Trucy exclaimed.

"No thanks, then. I'll make it myself," I groggily attempted to sit up, but the air mattress I'd spent the night on shifted with my weight and made me fall back down. I was personally against the idea of the Wright family sleepover, but it had only taken a little effortless, daughterly manipulation on Trucy's part to get Mr. Wright to insist on it. She was the agency's little princess, after all.

I was so tired that I began to drift back to sleep the moment I closed my eyes. It felt so relaxing to be in that state between conscious and unconscious. Just as I was about to nod off, though, a sudden jet of cold water hit me between the eyes.

"Gah!" I yelped, caught off guard. "Trucy!"

"Polly! SANTA!"

"Santa doesn't exist, Trucy."

"Shh! Pearls doesn't know that yet!" _Wait… __Pearls is __seventeen, right?_

"I'll tell her if you don't let me sleep. Seriously Trucy, you must be tired, too. I could hear you guys giggling downstairs at four AM, even over the sound of Mr. Wright's bear snoring." I turned my head to look at Mr. Wright's empty bed. "Where is he, anyways?"

"He's making Christmas breakfast!" she said with a grin. My mind began to picture the meals I'd grown accustomed to for the occasion- Clay's dad was a remarkable cook, and Clay and I had a tradition of making wings out of crackers and turning our baby sausages into rocket ships before we ate them. The dull pangs of sadness came back, and I frowned. I'd spent the past few nights staying with him, sleeping in Clay's bed- Clay, the college grad too wrapped up in his career to cook for himself and buy a house, opting to stay with the loving father he could never leave for long- trying to wrap myself up in his presence until the scent of him had faded away completely. Clay's dad had welcomed me with teary eyes as I swore to him that I'd find the truth, I'd find the killer, I wouldn't back down. But even with the accused facing massive charges worthy of far worse than the death penalty, that couldn't bring back the glitter in Mr. Terran's eyes. I just wanted to leave it behind me; the Christmases spent with Clay, the Christmases spent alone in the orphanage, the Christmases that Clay and I would never spend together.

_Why is it that the harder I try to forget, the more I remember?!_

I felt another cold blast of water, and I sprung up. "Okay, I'm awake, I'm awake!"

"If you tell Pearls about Santa, I'm going to pour a whole bucket of water on you!" she warned.

"I won't say a word."

"What about Santa?" A familiar, sticky-sweet voice came from the doorway, and I saw Trucy point the water gun at my head.

"Oh, uh… I plead the fifth," I stammered.

"You aren't in court," Pearl replied.

"Polly saw Saint Nick last night! Didn't you, Polly?"

"I sure did." _But it turns out that he wears a blue suit rather than a red one. And he's not exactly a saint. _

"Wow!"

"Polly even made his spikes extra pointy today to look like a reindeer!" Trucy added.

"Trucy didn't need to change her outfit to accomplish that- Ack!" A jet of water went straight into my ear, and I moaned.

"Merry Christmas to you too, Polly!" Trucy pouted.

"Don't be mean to Trucy!" Pearl butted in.

"She started it!"

"And I'll finish it!" Pearl said, rolling up her sleeve. I backed up until I felt the wall behind me, and I winced. _Please don't…!_

"Hey, Apollo! I got you a Santa ha-huh?" Athena peeked through the doorway, twirling a Santa hat around her finger. "What are you guys doing to Apollo?!"

"He said I looked like a reindeer!" Trucy whined.

"Apollo! Don't you know that girls have sensitive feelings?" she asked, giving Trucy a protective hug.

I rolled my eyes. "Not that one. I'm pretty sure the only feeling she's capable of is Christmas cheer all year round."

"The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear!" Athena cheered. "Bel aaaaaaastre que j'adooooore, soleeeeeil qui luit pour mooooooi…!" _Leave it to Athena to start singing in French. _I used the opportunity to escape, as Pearl's fighting stance had evaporated into pure, childish joy. I did note a frown from Trucy, though- _Jeez, you know I didn't __**really **__mean you looked like a reindeer. Are all teenage girls so sensitive? _

I walked downstairs, following my nose to the scent of burnt toast. I stepped into the apartment's kitchen, and found a note on the table.

_**The evidence clearly proves that I can't cook, so I'm going to the store. Don't open presents without me, Trucy… Especially not mine. **_

There was a pen next to the note, so I decided to add a little bit to it.

_**Dear Mr. Wright,**_

_**You do realize that they don't sell pre-toasted toast at Walmart, right? You're going to have to learn how to use a toaster eventually.**_

_**-Apollo**_

I had barely finished my sassy scribbling when I heard a bang come from the office's door. I turned around to find Mr. Wright stumble into the office with several bags and a box. "Hey, guys! Breakfast!"

Athena came sprinting downstairs at lightning speed, and I yelped. "Woah, Tiger! Weren't you spreading Christmas cheer?"

"Nope! I was lying in wait for my prey," she joked.

"Last time I checked, tigers don't eat bagels," I retorted. She smiled at me in that genuine Athena sort of way, where I could see her joy radiating both from her face and from Widget's green light.

"This tiger does."

Mr. Wright smirked. "A lion might, if it's got pepper on it."

"Huh? Do they like pepper?" Athena asked.

"It sure makes them smile," he added, his eyes glinting like they do when he's making a horrible joke.

"Nick, you can't make an inside joke to someone on the outside!" someone complained. I turned around to see Miss Maya as she began to explain, "See, Nick had a case way back in 1692 where a lion got a bunch of pepper up its nose, and it sneezed and bit off someone's head."

"...What?!" Athena asked.

"And he almost ate Nick, too!"

"...That's not exactly how it all happened, but I don't want to get into the strange details of that particular case," Mr. Wright crossed his arms, a sheepish grin on his face.

"Hey, you were the one who started it," Maya said. "Oh, but Regina had her baby!"

"Really?" Mr. Wright replied. They got into a strange conversation about raising a kid in a circus, so I tuned out and opened up a box of food that Mr. Wright had bought. It was full of bagels, and Athena was already grabbing a second, so I fought for a chocolate chip one and put it in the toaster.

"HOLD IT!" someone yelled. I turned around, heart racing and eyes wide, to see Mr. Wright pointing at me. "That toaster is broken!"

"Toasters occasionally burn toast if you leave it in there for _five minutes_, Mr. Wright."

"Unplug it! Unplug-" There was a strange noise, and the toaster began flaming.

"Ack!" The fire went straight for my face, and I barely avoided getting 3rd degree burns on it. "What the heck happened to the toaster?!"

"It's mine… Let's just say Simon got angry at it," Athena laughed nervously. I turned around to check Widget for her emotional state, but it turned a bright green as Athena started giggling. "Your hair!"

I sprinted into the bathroom to check my spikes, and they were, indeed, burnt at the tips. I cursed, frowned, and demonstrated many symptoms of negative human emotions before I bitterly left the bathroom to find a pair of scissors. When I found one, Athena eyed me curiously. "What are those for?"

"I guess I need a haircut now. I was probably due for one… My spikes are floppier than I'd like them to be."

"Can't pull off a hot hairstyle, huh?" Athena joked. Rolling my eyes, I walked back into the bathroom and started carefully snipping.

I was almost done when Trucy ran into the room screaming, "Presents, Polly!" I yelped and cut a little bit too much off of one of my spikes. I shot her a glare, and she stuck out her tongue cutely. "Oops."

"All right, just let me get my bagel," I said, dropping the scissors. My hair looked presentable, so I walked out to the kitchen, where Athena was waiting with a half eaten, charred bagel… _My _half eaten bagel. "Hey! That was mine!"

"Oh, whoops. You shouldn't have left it, then!" she cheekily replied.

"You shouldn't have left your fire hazard out, then!"

"You shouldn't have trusted my fire hazard!"

"You shouldn't have eaten my bagel!" I dug through the box of remaining bagels. "It was the last chocolate chip one, too…"

"Oh, cheer up, Polly!" Maya exclaimed. _Oh, not you, too. You're probably the one who ate all of the other chocolate chip bagels. _"It's present time!"

"Don't call me Polly. Only Trucy can call me Polly." Once I realized what I'd said, I stammered, "Not that Trucy can call me Polly!"

"Evidence has been tucked away in the court record!" Trucy called. "It'll make a nice ace up my sleeve sometime down the line."

"Whatever…" I muttered.

"So, who wants their present?" Mr. Wright asked.

"Me! Me!" Maya cheered, dashing over to him and sliding on her knees to properly beg. _Ow, Didn't that hurt? She just slid at least a foot across the carpet! _Phoenix just laughed and handed her an envelope. She ripped it open immediately, with a certain finesse in that though she ripped it to shreds, its contents were left unharmed. She looked at the Christmas card, skimmed the front cover, and opened it hastily. "...Huh?"

"What does it say?" Athena asked.

"Nick!" Maya pouted. He just grinned.

"What?" I asked.

"It says I don't get a present unless I can tell him what was on the front of the card." She frowned. "Words. A large, boring block of words."

"Eh, close enough," Phoenix said with a wink. He handed her what looked like a gift card, and she cheered. "_Lettuce Meat Up_? Yes!"

"But you guys just met up," Pearls said.

"No, lettuce! Like the vegetable! And meat! Like, "where's the beef?"!" Maya exclaimed. "It's the best burger joint ever to exist! How much is on this, Nick?"

"Ha ha ha. That's a surprise."

"You have no idea, do you? I bet you got it out of your back pocket as soon as you realized I was coming over!"

"You keep believing that," he laughed.

"I've got something for you, too, you big lump." She handed him a Christmas card, and after opening it, Mr. Wright just laughed.

"What is it?" Trucy asked.

"She promised to pay for a meal somewhere that's not a burger joint," he chuckled. "I hope this doesn't mean you were just planning to take me to Wanda's or something."

She jumped. "How did you see through my diabolical plan?"

"Ha ha ha." He tossed his magatama, caught it, and passed a small box to Pearl, along with a larger, squishy package. "I think the only person who _didn't_ run over here drooling should get to go next." _What am I, chopped liver?_

She bit her lip and carefully unwrapped the first gift, not wanting to rip the paper. None of us could really be angry with her, but I noticed that the longer she took, the more the other girls fidgeted. Finally, she pulled a rubber ball out of the box. "Ahh! It's perfect!" The logo of the Ship Shape Aquarium glittered a vibrant orange against the numerous penguins covering the toy.

Miss Maya grinned. "That one was from Santa." _...Someone's gotta tell her. _

The delighted girl opened the other package just as meticulously and gasped as she pulled out a long, silky dress. The ivory accents on the pastel pink fabric perfectly matched the string of authentic looking pearls and the shimmery flats that had been included. _Where in the world did Mr. Wright get the money for that? _

"Maya, Trucy, and I got this one for you, in case your special someone comes along soon."

"I... Thank you!" She jumped at Mr. Wright and he chuckled again. I'd never thought about it before, but with the glow on her face and her mostly absent parents, the awkward attorney must have been the closest thing she had to a father, just as Clay's dad had become to me.

..._Why do I think about him more now that he's gone than I ever did before?_

Trucy slipped me a gift while the others oohed and ahhed over Pearl's dress, and I looked at the delicate wrapping with a sense of tenderness. Everything Trucy had done was meticulously thought out, not a wrinkle in her wrapping or a tear in the paper. It was all perfectly constructed, with not a thing out of place.

...And that seemed completely out of place.

"Open it!" Trucy urged.

"All right, all right," I said, carefully undoing the tape, trying not to rip the perfect wrapping job.

"You're slower than Pearls!" she hissed, too quiet for Pearl to hear. I ripped it open in response, earning a grin from Trucy, and pulled out what looked like a scrapbook.

The bright blue paper cover had a picture of me in court; I looked like I was yelling "Objection!" as loud as my chords of steel could handle. How on earth Trucy had managed to get ahold of it, I had no idea. Under the picture, in stenciled lettering, were the words "Apollo Justice, Ace Attorney".

"This is… Really amazing," I said, flipping through the pages. It had a page for each of my murder cases, filled with stickers, memorabilia, and photographs. I found our first case together with a picture of Wocky, an OG cracker wrapper, a few fake white feathers, and a few pressed autumn leaves from the park, among other things. It seemed like Trucy had put her entire heart and soul into it, I realized as I kept looking through. I found the case where Kristoph was sentenced for a second time, and rather than dart around the true emotions that we'd felt during that dark case, she had delved into the depths, keeping the memory alive. She hadn't sugarcoated anything, treated any moment like it was less than crucial to the both of us, or left out details. There it was: A label off of a bottle of Ariadoney nail polish and one off of a bottle of luminol, photographs, and even a toothbrush. But what was most shocking was a sketch signed by Vera, a picture of Kristoph as his identity finally shattered.

I closed the book, not wanting to remember any more of the past. "Thank you, Trucy… This is really incredible." I hoped she couldn't see the fear or the sadness, but deep down I know she could. _I hope she knows that I'm being sincere, though. _I thought I was, but nervous tics aren't reliant on sincerity alone- they're something more connected with the brain than the heart.

She gave me a small, sad smile before turning with her trademark grin to hand a square shaped package to Pearl. I spent a few more moments reflecting before I was interrupted by a tap from something soft on my back. I turned around to see Athena standing behind me with a rather large package in her hands. "Feliz Navidad!"

I blinked and accepted the squishy, cylindrical parcel, groaning when I realized my gift to her was all the way across the room. I told her as much and she grinned. "Don't worry, I'll make you go get it after you've opened yours."

This present, thankfully, was wrapped rather sloppily; it looked like she had used a whole roll of scotch tape to patch up the numerous tears. I was able to rip through it all without feeling guilty, and soon saw a red fez sitting on my lap. "Am I missing something?"

"Yes!" She balled her fists, but Widget remained bright green. "I mean, fezes are cool, but you have to look inside it, too!"

I pulled what seemed to be an impressive amount of random objects - a brown pinstripe suit that was clearly from the thrift store; a pair of cheap, paper 3D glasses, and a bow tie that was relatively drab compared to my bright red suit - before finding the last object in the bottomless fez. Suddenly, everything made sense.

I facepalmed. "Of course; Doctor Who."

"Took you long enough!"

I pointed my new sonic screwdriver at her, listening to it whir realistically, but sadly it had just as much effect on her as the Doctor's did on wood. She simply stuck her tongue out at me.

"I'll find something for the rest of the Doctors soon enough. But didn't you say something about my present?" She grinned and I sighed as I got up from my comfy spot on the sofa to grab the thing. By the time I returned, however, she was snuggled cozily right where I had been.

"Hey!"

"Move your feet, lose your seat!" I flopped, and dropped the small envelope on her lap.

"Go ahead and open it, couch thief." She grinned and gave me a quick peace sign before tearing into the card. Inside I had written a thoughtful message, which was probably a little cliche but it had taken me forever to think of, and I had taped a gift card to the Shipshape Aquarium.

She squealed. "Oooh! Yes!"

I smirked. "I figured with that perpetual 50% discount they gave you to the gift shop, you could get a lot with it."

Athena was so pleased with the card that she missed the other part of her present; it had fallen out of the envelope and I had to pick it up from the floor. "Here you were making fun of me for missing things," I said, finally getting to smirk at her. In my hand was a small, star shaped charm, with a loop so she could secure it to Widget's cord. "A friend of mine from college owed me a favor, and his entire family is made up of jewelers. So I took a stone from the garden of the Space Center and had him make it into this. Now you'll have an earring from the moon and a necklace from Earth."

She was speechless, but I was glad to see that Widget was glowing green. I smiled back at her as she found her voice. "Thank you so much," and enveloped me in a hug. I put up with the inability to breathe for as long as I could stand it before I had to pull her off. "Oops. Too tight, huh?"

"Just… a bit," I panted.

When I had finally managed to catch my breath, I found my present for Mr. Wright, which I plopped on the ground next to him- a very light, very big box. He seemed kind of surprised by it, but that might have been because I accidentally dropped it on his foot.

He tore open the box with a finesse that he must have been taught by Maya and then looked up at me with an eyebrow raised. "Really?"

I was quite proud of my gift; after all, it would hopefully save me and Athena a lot of work in the coming year. I had found bulk packs of automatic toilet bowl cleaner at James's Club and bought a few. Mr. Wright would get his clean toilet and I would, hopefully, get assigned more lawyerly jobs.

Maybe that wasn't going to work out so well in practice, though. "Want to go install some right now?"

"Heh. No thanks."

In return, my boss handed me a very wide card. I opened it to find a thick stack of money and a bunch of coins that promptly fell onto the floor. My eyes bulged until I began to count it all; it was mostly singles.

"So, all those times I borrowed money from your salary…" He was grinning sheepishly and rubbing the back of his spikes.

"You borrowed over three-hundred dollars from me?!"

"Ha ha ha… 314 dollars. And 32 cents."

"Mr. Wright!"

He grinned that grin of his and said, "Don't worry! That's not everything."

He held out his hand, a navy blue, faux-leather bound book sitting in it. I took it gingerly and opened the cover to see the first page covered in a surprisingly small scrawl. It was titled, "The First Turnabout".

Mr. Wright scratched his neck. "It's a chronicle of my major cases as a young attorney, from my point of view and with a few additional notes. I thought you might appreciate it, with me being so mysterious all the time."

I blinked in surprise. It was actually… Really touching of him. I'd always wondered what those cases had been like, and he was definitely right about being mysterious.

"Uh…" My face felt hot as I rubbed my spikes back some. "Thanks. Wow... Mr. Wright, this is… really amazing." I looked down to flip through the pages, but when I looked up he had disappeared. I guess he wanted to save us both the awkwardness.

As I skimmed some of the passages, I noticed that he was also fond of making sarcastic remarks about the prosecution and insulting obnoxious witnesses, and I realized that maybe the two of us weren't so different after all. He even named his cases after turnabouts like I did.

When I was finished, for the moment, I looked around for my favorite magician. Trucy, on the other side of the room, was fiddling with her new set of earrings; Athena had found a pair with a magnetic, mini deck of cards so she could wear whichever card she wanted. Already, I was amazed by how surreptitiously Trucy was able to swap the magnets out for one another. I grabbed her present from the tree and began to move in her direction.

"Watch this, Polly!" She stared at her hand, concentrating. Then, in one fell swoop she pulled the card from her ear and the matching, large one appeared in her hand. She grinned. "Yes, it worked!"

"Nice job, Trucy!" I had spent enough time around her to be able to understand how the most basic tricks worked, and this one made sense to me. Slide the magnet off her ear, slide it down her sleeve, and pull the full size card from it on the way. It was still pretty neat how she executed it flawlessly, though.

Then I did a trick of my own. I had the small package containing my gift for her wedged between the layers of clothes on my back, and I whipped it out. "Ta da."

Compared to Trucy, that wasn't even magic. She did grin and said, "You'll have to do a little better than that if you want to join me onstage."

"Pretty good for a boring old lawyer, though," I bragged.

"Eh, you tried." She gave me a wink and poked her tongue out.

She took the present and unwrapped it much faster than Pearl, ripping off the paper while still managing to keep it in one (easy to clean up) piece. She stared at the gift for a moment. "Is this… A book?"

"It's a journal. I don't know, I guess it's good to get your thoughts on paper. It makes them feel valid and important and all that, if you take the time to appreciate what goes on in your head. I've always found mine to be a source of comfort, and I thought you might too."

There was more silence before she looked up and said, "Wow...Thank you, Polly."

I smiled. "Take a look inside." There was a pair of twenty dollar bills tucked in the cover. "I know you were saving up for your Myriam Scuttlebutt costume."

She put her hands on her hips, but smiled. "Hey, my _magic_ box will be way cooler than hers!"

I raised my eyebrows. "It better be, if it's almost $500."

"Well…" She shrugged. "It'll let me do some really cool tricks, even if it is really expensive. I'm almost there, now, though. Thanks!" She grinned and gave me a quick hug before trying to catch Athena and give her a present.

I was about to sit down and look through my new scrapbook some more, but Pearl decided to give Miss Maya and Mr. Wright their gifts at the same time, which resulted in a lot of noise and everything else in the room stopping. Mr. Wright got a book of honeymoon suggestions (including things like Hawaii, Jamaica, and a multitude of other places he could never afford to visit) and Miss Maya got a chocolate fountain bearing the label: "Do not use until your wedding day or Trucy's graduation party." Most of the rest of us had to work to conceal our laughter as Mr. Wright's face turned bright red. It was pretty funny to see him being the one embarrassed for once. Miss Maya also looked vaguely embarrassed, but she seemed more frustrated with the literal meaning of the directions on her gift than what they implied.

"C'mon Pearly! You can't just give me a chocolate fountain and then tell me not to use it! That's like...not even a gift!" We all gave up and burst out laughing at this point. Even Mr. Wright ended up smiling, though it still took a while for his face to return to a normal color. Pearl looked she wasn't fully sure of why everyone was laughing, but she smiled just the same, like she was happy everyone else was happy.

I was surprised and a little embarrassed when Pearl's next move was to hand me a gift; I didn't know her well enough to know what she would have liked, so I hadn't gotten her anything. The delicately wrapped box had an envelope on top, which I carefully opened to reveal a card reading "Merry Christmas Apollo!" on the front with border of tiny, intricately-painted holly leaves surrounding it. I turned the cover, and was suprised as a pop-up Christmas tree folded out as it opened: a tree complete with tinsel, ornaments, and a star on the top. Amazed, I carefully set the card on the table by me, leaving it open so that the pop-up was still on display, and I gingerly unwrapped the box. Inside, there was a (clearly handmade) hat that was the exact same shade of red as my suit with a big puffy green ball on the top. It was the type of thing I tended to avoid wearing due to the fact that it crushed my bangs hopelessly.

"Do you like it?" Pearl asked me with huge eyes. "I spent two weeks making the hat!" she said, beaming. I was speechless. _She put so much effort into this and I didn't even get her anything. _I felt terrible, but I put on a bright smile. At least I could show her that I appreciated her beautiful gift. With a silent apology to my hair, I pulled the hat on, thanking her and telling her it was wonderful.

"I, uh, didn't get anything for you. I'm sorry," I mumbled after extravagantly praising the hat and the card. Her smile didn't even flicker.

"Don't worry! We don't really celebrate Christmas in Kurain, so getting any gifts at all is really exciting!" she said, beaming. Somehow, that made me feel just as bad as if she'd been disappointed.

I tried to grin as she walked away, only to be irritated again when I heard my name. "Polly! Hey, Polly!"

"It's _Apollo_," I grumbled as I turned to face Maya, who was happily reading the manual for the chocolate fountain despite Pearl's clear instructions.

"Yeah, whatever." She grinned at looked at me for a second before turning back to the device. "Your present is over there." I followed her outstretched arm to see a medium size red box on the table a few feet away from where she was sitting. "Hey, Nick. Do you think this'll work if I put sprinkles in the chocolate?" Clearly, she was done with me, and I felt perfectly fine with the fact that I'd overlooked getting her a present.

I had to admit, though, her present was nice. The box contained a "Phoenix Wright Survival Kit", apparently a package deal with the guide I'd gotten last year - a copy of which Athena was now holding. It had a toilet cleaner and Steel Samurai themed brush; a pair of scissors; a full, and rather expensive looking, first aid kit; a "Get out of jail free" card from Monopoly; and one bottle of sparkling grape juice, for when I needed to bribe Mr. Wright. I was most thankful for the first aid kit - there was a burn on my forehead from the toaster and I hadn't noticed it at first, and some aloe vera gel was very welcome.

All the gifts had been given and everyone was smiling, but something still didn't feel right. While everyone else was entertained by their new toys, I slipped out of the Christmas-cheer-filled room and headed to my desk in the office. I just couldn't take it any more; every single smiling face reminded me of all the Christmases I'd spent at Clay's house. My foster parents were great, but with the other five kids there I felt much more at home with my best friend. But I guessed that was gone now. Sure, I had the Wrights and all their friends, but there were people in the room who I'd never even met before yesterday. How could that truly feel like a family?

Staying in a room with at least three people who could tell when someone was hiding something was also starting to get a little nerve-wracking; I knew it was only a matter of time before they figured out something was wrong. So I decided that the best idea would be to remove myself from the situation, and the only excuse I could think of was...doing paperwork. Also, an added bonus of paperwork was its side effect of requiring enough mental focus that I wouldn't be able to think about Clay while I was doing it, and I would have less work to do later.

I threw myself into the work, and for a while I didn't think about anything but trials, evidence, murders, and criminal convictions. Unfortunately, the peace and escape that came with the paperwork couldn't last forever.

"Apollo, what are you doing in here?" Trucy asked as she walked in the door. "It's Christmas! You don't have to work!"

"Criminals don't take Christmas off, so I won't, either," I replied.

"Oh, aren't you a spoilsport! We're going over to a Christmas party, and there's free food, and you're coming. Let's go."

"Woah, I didn't sign up for this!"

"...It's **good **free food, I promise."

"...All right, let me get my shoes."

(O)

It took forever to actually leave - we were held up by a magician's missing wand, a misplaced present, and an empty stomach ("Athena! We're going to a _dinner party!")_ \- but at some point we wound up at Mr. Gumshoe's house. He opened the door with a wide grin and a hearty laugh; if he'd had a red suit and hair that was white rather than graying, he could have easily passed for Santa. At least to Pearl.

"Hey, pals. You made it!" He grinned and ushered us inside, slapping Mr. Wright on the back as he passed. "Mr. Edgeworth told us that you never got our invitation. I'm really glad he saw you yesterday!"

A small woman walked over without meeting anyone's eyes and stood by him. "It's just my luck that it would get lost in the mail."

Mr. Gumshoe smiled warmly and said, "I think our luck has gotten far better since we became a family." He gave her a soft kiss on the forehead and every girl in the room squealed.

The rest of their family, two children, dashed into the room at the sound of the girls' high pitched 'awws'. Trucy was immediately tackled. "Aunt Trucy, Aunt Trucy!" Now _their_ high pitched screams filled the air and I winced. She gave a glowing smile to the pair, one with long, light brown waves of hair and the other with short black spikes on his head. They latched onto her and didn't let go until, with the snap of Trucy's fingers, bubbles appeared from thin air and floated around.

The two chased them as we all made our way to the table filled with burgers (what else?) and very, very salty Eldoon's. I was about to sit down when a large hand clapped my shoulder. "Hey," a voice said, strong but quiet. "Mr. Edgeworth told me all about the last few days, pal, and I just wanted you to know that I'm real sorry about your friend. I know it's not much, but he was really brave and I hope no one ever forgets it."

It's true, the gesture was one of many awkward moments where the world attempted to stop to drag me back up to speed with its breakneck pace. Many people had offered condolences that had really added up to, "His death made other lives better, but I'm sorry for you," or "Sorry your friend never achieved his dreams," but something about the ace investigator's genuine smile reminded me that the world was missing a shining star, one who had done so much more than he'd ever expected to accomplish- one who had reached dreams that he'd never meant to reach. Being here, away from the paperwork, away from the everyday toil I'd immersed myself in, I could feel a bit of warmth in the loneliest part of my heart.

"Thank you, Mr. Gumshoe… Thanks a lot."

(O)

The Steel Samurai said some witty line, filling the room with laughter once again- Mr. Gumshoe's roar almost covered up Miss Maya's shriek. I'd managed to get a headache somewhere in the mass chaos of cheerful company, and the blood rushing through my head grew more forceful with every heartbeat. The squeals of the movie-watchers weren't exactly helping, so, after making sure they were all focused on the movie, I quietly slipped out. The cool breeze was refreshing, so I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

_Clay loved nights like this._ I took a few more steps, seeing a small, dimly lit hill not far away that would have also piqued his interest. I climbed up to the top, sitting down in the cool grass. Looking up through the few fluttering flakes of snow, it took me only seconds to find his favorite constellation, planet, and star all shining extra bright. I gave a bittersweet laugh and felt my eyes begin to water.

I felt like my emotions were being decided by someone rolling dice in my head. Was I going to feel despair? Was I going to feel nostalgic? Was I going to feel peaceful? Was I going to feel anything at all? It didn't seem to have any pattern whatsoever- I just wanted to be at peace with the whole thing and move on like I know Clay would have wanted me to do, but I couldn't. I couldn't.

"Hey." I jumped as Athena plopped down next to me, and tried to wipe my eyes surreptitiously. "You alright?"

"Huh? Yeah. It was just a little loud in there." I sniffed a little.

"Tell me about it. All that shouting made my ears surge." She winced a bit, rubbing her ears, and I swear that Widget flashed a little grimace that I hadn't seen before… But then again, I wasn't exactly in an ideal state of mind. "I heard you sniffling from a mile away… You sound sick. Heart sick."

"You don't need to worry about me… I'm Apollo Justice and I'm fine, you know?" I faked a smile best as I could, but it was pretty clear that it wasn't fooling her.

"And I'm Athena Cykes and I can read your heart like an audiobook, you know? Yours is particularly loud as of right now, too." She poked my chest for emphasis, her face colored blue thanks to Widget.

"Sorry, I'll try to keep the volume down next time," I grumbled.

"Apollo… What's the point of hiding when you know that I can feel your pain every time you open your mouth? I _know _you're hurting, but you keep insisting that you're fine and you don't need any help. Do you know that it drives me insane to know you're hurting and there's nothing I can do to help?"

"Sorry if my problems are making your life difficult," I spat.

"Apollo… You know that's not what I mean. It's just… I trust you so much… I'd trust you with my _life_, and I feel like you don't trust me at all in return. I want to help you, but you won't let me."

"That's because I'm sick of trust!" I shouted before I could think, and Athena started. I hesitated, making one last effort to hold up the dam that was keeping in the bitterness and the pain I'd felt for far too long, but I crushed it- _If she wants feelings, she's going to get feelings! _"Don't you get it? Ever since I was born people have broken my trust! My parents abandoned me before I can remember because they couldn't handle some dumb kid in their lives, my mentor is in solitary confinement for the murder of Trucy's biological father, one of my... _clients_ gave me forged evidence to get them a not guilty verdict and _never apologized_, Clay's **dead**, and everyday idiots like Bobby Fulbright end up being serial killers in disguise! I don't think you understand what it's like to not have trust as a possibility, Athena, since not all of your relationships ended in failure!"

"You can't discount all of the friendships that _do _exist just because they haven't ended yet," she steadily replied.

"The second I trust someone is the second that fate turns on them," I retorted.

"Do you think you have that kind of power? People don't just die because you care about them, Apollo."

"Then why is all of this happening to me? Clay never did anything wrong, and neither did I! But now he's dead, and… _**Clay is dead.**_" As soon as reality set in, and the pictures of Clay laughing and smiling flooded my thoughts, tears started pouring out of my eyes and I buried my face in my knees, shaking with sobs as warmth flooded my knees. Athena gingerly ghosted her hand over my back, eventually beginning to rub circles with her fingers.

"Clay died because he was a hero," she said quietly. I drew in a sharp breath. "He died trying to save that hope capsule. This is hard to hear… But Starbuck _didn't _die. The Phantom wasn't out to kill the innocent bystanders… He was there to kill the only person who could stand in his way. And that was Clay. Clay chose his own path, Apollo… And I think you're his only regret."

"I know." came my weak reply. "...He's an idiot."

"Why did Clay want to go to space so much, Apollo?"

"He wanted to experience what nobody else ever had."

"Do you know how many people have been able to take down a serial killer?"

"Me? You? Mr. Wright? Trucy? Some guy's pet parrot?"

"...What?"

"It happened. Ask Mr. Wright."

"...I think I will. But Apollo, I know you're hurt. And I'm here for you." I looked into her eyes and noticed that she was crying, and I felt a pang of guilt.

"I'm so sorry…"

"These-" she said, pointing to both of our eyes- "These are good tears. These are the kind that friendships are made of."

"Like when Clay's mom died…"

"Yeah. But, Apollo, don't you see? You've been holding all that emotion in, and every time you say you're fine you encourage it. Sometimes, you just can't pretend nothing's wrong. What's the point of going through all this pain if you can't use it to grow closer to the people who care about you? Pain is how we learn about each other."

I stared at the tear stains on my knees as I thought, if only to avoid Athena's piercing teary blue eyes. "What am I supposed to do, then? Everyone else is having a great Christmas and I don't want to ruin that with my infectious grief."

There was a pause as she did the same before looking at me with Widget a deep blue. "You're not the only one."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't you realize that you aren't the only actor around here? It might look like everyone's having a great time but trust me, some of their hearts are just as broken."

"Who? What's wrong?"

Athena sighed and stretched out to lay in the grass, eyes turned towards the stars. I joined her, staring at the small misfit star in the big dipper. "It's probably not my place to tell you, but… I'm sure you've picked up on the illusion a certain magician's trying to create with sunglasses and waterproof mascara."

"Trucy?"

"You haven't noticed?"

"I don't know, she seems to be having too much fun with squirt guns and Christmas decorating."

"It's impossible to be a glittery, happy ball of fun all the time. The second you can't see anything but smiles is the second you take out the magnifying glass."

"I really haven't been treating her well, have I?" I asked. There was a moment of silence, and the tears began to trickle again. "Argh…" My face contorted as I tried not to cry. I focused on tensing every muscle in my body, determined to just stay fine, before an arm snaked around my shoulders and I instinctively relaxed. I inadvertently heaved a sob, and the stars streaked together as Athena began to rub my arm soothingly. It was freeing to let go of it all and to not be fine for a bit.

After the sobs turned to sniffles, we sat in silence for a little longer before I saw a light streak across the sky. "Was that a shooting star?" Athena asked.

"Yeah, I think so," I replied.

"Make a wish, then!" She said with a laugh.

"I just want Clay back," I confessed. _Just one last time… If Christmas miracles can really happen, I just want to see him one last time, so I can say goodbye. _

Athena let out a hum of understanding. "Why don't you tell me a bit more about him? I still don't really know all that much."

I smiled. It seemed the dice of my emotions had granted me a moment of peace. "He used to drag me outside in the middle of the night all the time so he could show me this planet or that galaxy. We spent hours looking for constellations and making up our own. We'd camp out under the stars and just talk to each other, kind of like we're doing now, but about all the stereotypical teenager things. You know, girls and video games and ambitions and stuff." I chuckled a bit. "He always seemed to have a better handle on understanding girls, though. I always went to him for advice." I closed my eyes. " I don't know who I'll go to now." Something hit my head, hard. "Ow! What was that for?!"

"You're sitting next to a girl who can hear everyone's emotions, silly! Anytime you need advice, just ask!"

I rubbed my head. "Alright, alright. Just don't slap me again, please."

She winced. "Sorry, Apollo. Though, I do pride myself on my relationship advice. I mean, look at how Junie and I chased off that creepy friend of Mr. Wright's!"

Her comment jogged my memory, and there was a sinking feeling in my stomach. _Oh, right..._ "Speaking of that... Congratulations to you and Junie."

"Huh?"

"I mean, she's a great girl and I know you guys are really close..."

Athena blinked a few times. "Wait, you..." Then she burst into laughter and I felt my face heat up. "You actually thought... You thought we were serious?!"

"Are... you saying you weren't?"

It took her another minute or so before her giggling calmed enough for her to talk coherently. "No way! We're just really close friends. Besides, Junie's got her eye on someone else." She smirked knowingly and I thought I saw her wink. "We were just acting to get rid of that jerk!"

"Heh. I think everyone is glad that you chased him off... I think Mr. Wright owes us an explanation as to why he's friends with the guy in the first place."

She chuckled. "Yeah… Maybe he'll talk about that parrot, too."

After a while longer of just watching the stars, we heard the door open with a shout. "Apollo! Athena! Where'd you go?"

"Hey, Trucy! We're over here!" I replied.

She rushed over and grabbed my arm, trying to drag me back. "Come on! Mr. Gumshoe brought out cake for us!" _Little glittery ball of fun, huh?_

Athena tried to rush past, but I caught her wrist first, chuckling. "All right, all right. You go ahead and get a piece. We'll be there in a minute."

"Alright! Hurry up!" She dashed off, and I turned to my... friend.

"Athena… I just wanted to say thanks." I hesitantly offered her a hug, which she accepted with gusto. "I might not be able to adjust right away, but I'll do my best to stop hiding from you all."

"Of course, Apollo! Don't forget that I'll be there every step of the way!" She grinned, her eyes flickering towards the house, and I sighed.

"Let them eat cake," I told her. She stayed for one more second before pulling away and running for the door. "Come on, Apollo!"

Sighing, I looked up at the sky one more time.

_I'm Apollo Justice,_ I thought with a soft smile, _and I'm not fine._

_But that's okay, because I will be someday. It'll just take a little time, and a lot of my friends._

_** spreadsheets/d/1RooAu2fHoyd3Uojm4JpeeNZZ99Bn-llpnP5ej1N-Arc/edit#gid=0**_

Quote Wall! (Disclaimer: Lumos and Jeffbob are no longer dating, Can is no longer part of the doc, Larry is our buddy who doesn't actually contribute, and Misa is not trash)

Lumos: Okay, so after they all wake up at, like, 6 am, maybe they can all go open their pants.  
Misa: I didn't know you were _that _kind of a person, Lumos!  
Lumos: STUPID TABLET AUTOCORRECT! _**Presents**_.

Can: (...Note to self: Never give Chief any ideas.)

MadFox: I have completely lost the ability to say no to people. My kid's gonna end up as a juvenile delinquent and she's going to ask me for alcohol money so she can have a good date with her 26 year old boyfriend and I won't be able to say no to her  
(2 minutes later)  
Misa: MADFOX I HAVE A QUESTION  
MadFox: What?  
Misa: Am I an idiot  
MadFox: ...No? What gives you that impression?  
Misa: There, you said it. You said you couldn't say no. I just proved otherwise.  
MadFox: You. You scoundrel. ...but idc about my dignity Misa's not an idiot XD

Misa: WHOAAA. WHEN DID YOU GUYS WRITE THIS MUCH FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER?  
Flames: Lumos, Lilac, and Madfox have been hard at work.  
Madfox: Wanna do stuff? :D  
Misa: Why does that sound wrong?  
Madfox: ...  
Misa: MADFOX IS RENDERED SPEECHLESS ONCE AGAIN!  
Madfox: …I remember how I used to complain about the fact that you guys never made fun of me. Then Jeff and Larry came along and now it's just… A Madfox attack.  
Misa: You're too precious to make fun of. A cinnamon roll, too precious for this world :3  
Misa: But I like to be trash sometimes. Trash making fun of a cinnamon roll: A bestselling novel by Misa Youngbag

Lumos: Guys, save me. I'm dating a creepy fake doctor who is a pedophile!

**Lumos- **Tell MadFox to get back here. XD  
**Larry Butz- **Madeline says she's doing a thing  
**Lumos- **That thing better be getting back here. XD

MadFox: I ship Meth. Maya/Death  
Larry: Gosh MadFox get over your meth addiction

Larry: Lol jeff and Lumos will have a forbidden romance XD [in our Warriors AU]  
Flames: It's like Romeo and Juliet, just less shallow and hopefully doesn't end with them both dead.


End file.
